Alone
by Randomcat100
Summary: Set two years before the books we know and love, Jeb is gone and Max is left to raise the Flock on her own. How will the Flock adjust to his loss? Contains spoilers for the first five pages of The Angel Experiment. (Book 1) Will not be fully canon.
1. Chapter 1 Announcement

Alone

Chapter 1

Twenty-six hours. He'd been gone for twenty-six hours. A feeling of dread was overcoming me. He'd never left us alone for this long. Maybe now it would really be up to me to take care of our family.

At only twelve years old. I wouldn't be all alone in this, though. Fang was twelve, too, and Iggy's twelfth birthday was coming up any day now.

_Max, what are you doing? He'll come any minute now!_

Of course, I'd been telling myself that for hours now. I wiped a tear that was forming in my eye. I couldn't lead the rest of us…I just couldn't!

"Max?"

I jumped to see six-year-old Gazzy standing in the doorway to his room, his blond hair ruffled from sleep. He walked up to me, sleepy eyes shining with excitement.

"What is it, Gasman?" I tried to keep a smile on my face and in my voice as I spoke. Fang, Iggy and I hadn't yet told the younger ones the truth about Jeb's mysterious disappearance. Pretty soon, though, they'd figure it out.

"I was thinkin', for Iggy's birthday, I'd make a _huge _bomb for him! Maybe Jeb would help me. D'you think he'd like that?" the Gasman's young voice was trembling with joy.

I grinned slightly, despite the situation. A bomb? Yeah, Iggy would like that. "I'm sure, Gazzy."

The Gasman bounced from foot to foot. "Maybe Jeb'll help me! Do you think he will? Max?"

If _he comes back…_I thought, but only nodded slightly and waved him back to bed.

_C'mon, Jeb…_

* * *

Two days. He'd been gone two days.

I sat on the sofa, chin resting on my arms. Watching Iggy cook. And _yes,_ I needed cooking classes from a blind eleven-year-old. Face it.

Naturally, my mind was not on Iggy's lesson. It was on Jeb. He was like a dad to me. To all of us. He'd freed us.

The truth was beginning to dawn on me. Jeb was dead. They'd caught him, somehow, and there was nothing we could do about it. My hope on his return was beginning to shrivel like a rose in winter.

"_Max?_ Are you even trying to listen to me?"

I jumped. That would be Iggy. "Yeah, Ig. I am."

"_Sure_ you are. Just…get up here and tell me if the oven is pointed at 350°, okay?"

I stood up and walked over to the stove. It was. "Yep."

Iggy sighed, opening the door and shoving the casserole in. "You're a hopeless case. You know that?"

I didn't answer, just turned around and walked into Nudge and Angel's bedroom. Angel was whispering to her stuffed animals behind the curtain. Nudge was sprawled out on her bed, staring dully at the ceiling. For once, she didn't leap up and begin talking. She just lay there.

"Nudge?" I asked softly.

She turned to look at me, didn't smile. "Gazzy, Angel and me know. We figured it out. It's obvious by now."

_Oh, no._ This is what I was worried about. Obviously, Fang, Iggy and me couldn't hide the younger ones in the dark forever, but…

"You mean about…" I began slowly.

"Yes." Nudge's voice was a whisper as she sat up. "About Jeb. We know he's dead…"

I sat down on her bed and put my arm around her. "Yeah. He must be dead. He wouldn't leave us."

Nudge bobbed her head up and down. " I know. Why did you lie to us, Max?"

"I don't know, Nudge."

"Well, there's nothing we can do now. We've got more important things on our mind, like…" Nudge paused, gaze darting towards the kitchen, then she leaned into my ear and breathed, "Iggy's birthday. Oh my God, he's going to turn twelve! Gazzy said he'll make a bomb…"

That bomb again. I smiled in spite of myself. Nudge could move on so quickly. But not me.

Not Maximum Ride. After all, it was _her _who had to lead the rest of us, be the parent. Not Nudge.


	2. Chapter 2 Meeting

Alone, Chapter 2: Meeting

**Author's Note: So, if you're reading this…HOLD ON A SECOND! I have to go fangurl over Iggy and will be back shortly. **

**Jrhejjhxgzhfdjjrergfkf8452*!94kl/rd;.?fewh…**

**That was me hugging the keyboard pretending it was Iggy. Okay, I'm done for now…(fangurling, not writing!)**

**Now you can read the second chapter. I'm considering expanding it to be not fully canon, but am not 100% sure yet. **

"What are we going to do, Max?" Angel's small four-year-old voice emerged from the shadows. I turned around and beamed at her as she rounded the corner, pale pink nightdress swishing around her ankles.

"I don't know, honey," I say softly. "Maybe we'll call…a meeting."

Angel looked at the ground sadly. "Okay."

She marched into the living room and flopped onto Iggy's favorite sofa. She cocked her head, blond locks falling to one side. "You're sad," she said at last.

"We're all sad right now, Angel. Jeb is dead."

"I know you can take care of us all. I'm going to get Gazzy." Angel answered thoughtfully. She then proceeded to stand and rap on her biological brother's door and go back to the sofa.

Ten minutes later, we were all slouching in. Angel and Gazzy were taking up Iggy's sofa, both upside down and grinning.

Soon, Iggy walked over to the sofa, paused, then bent down. Angel and Gazzy waited with bated breath. What would he do?

I felt a smile crawl up my face. I had a feeling I knew exactly what he was going to do. And I was right - He tickled them.

The siblings shrieked with laughter, youthful cries filling the room with…happiness.

Happiness.

For the past week, none of us had been happy. We'd been quiet, depressed. Our father figure was gone. We were running out of food. But now, none of us could help but laugh as Gazzy and Angel begged for mercy. Not even Fang could help it.

At last, Iggy scooped the children up, swept them onto the floor, and flopped down himself.

I picked up Angel and pulled her into my lap. She sighed and snuggled up.

"What are we going to do?" I asked at last.

Silence filled the room, and I had a feeling Angel was hearing sad thoughts again.

"What are we gonna do?" I repeated. "We're _alone_ now. We can't get food, can't leave…"

"We can get food," Nudge piped up, chewing furiously on a piece of gum. "A couple of us could go and buy some. I mean, we know where the town is. And Jeb even took us a few times. Mmm. They have such nice things there! Like those Cheetos, and potato chips, and licorice. And cookies. And soda. And this gum! It's really good gum, by the way! My favorite flavor is Citrus! It's so good…and the package says it's got Vitamin C. Didn't you say that's good for you? You said that once, right, Max? Yeah, you did. I remember that. Come _on_, Max. So long as some of us stay and guard the house, we can totally get supplies. All we have to do is fold up our wings."

More silence. Despite her rant…the nine-year-old had a point.

"You're right, Nudge. We can do that. But as for leading…" I trailed off. "I mean, I'm oldest. So…"

Angel looked up at me. "You know you can be like our mom now, Max. You know you can do it."

I'll be honest: much as I loved Angel, she could creep me out sometimes, what with that mind-reading thing. That was exactly what I'd been thinking.

She smiled knowingly, stood, and walked out of the room and into her own.

The Gasman was staring after his sister. He probably found it a little intimidating too.

"I just can't believe he's gone," I said at last, softly. "Forever. Can you?"

Iggy, Nudge and Gazzy shook their heads simultaneously, and Fang shifted slightly, a movement that probably meant, 'Yeah.'

I closed my eyes.

"I'll make pancakes," I heard Iggy say. He got up and his footsteps shuffled towards the kitchen.

Behind my lids, I saw Jeb, my father figure. Showing us how to read, write, count. Even Iggy learned the last two.

_Then he was watching us fly, really fly, with no walls limiting our freedom. No cuffs around our ankles that bleeped whenever we slowed. I could still remember those cuffs. I remembered the electricity that shot through our bodies, remembered the pain. The screams._

_They would do it to two-year-old Angel, even. Her thin wails still haunted me._

_But here, we were truly free, our wings spread, we were free to laugh._

_He was taking us to the town, and with our wings folded up under our shirts, we felt so…so_ normal.

And then it was over.

I blinked my eyes open. Nudge was watching me silently, and the Gasman sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Max?"

I jumped and turned to see Iggy. He was leaning against the armchair, concern evident on his face.

"Yeah?"

"We're out of eggs. And milk. And flour. We have to get groceries."

So, the time had come. For the first time ever, we would venture outside of the house without Jeb.

Without our dad.

Alone.


	3. Chapter 3 Papers

Chapter 3: Papers

**So, I've come to a decision. This story will not be canon. Just the events, basic Maximum Ride history, etc.**

**Also please NO SPOILERS! I haven't finished the series yet (actually, I haven't even finished The Angel Experiment yet) but I'm already hooked. Perhaps one of the best books I've ever come across…but still, nothing compares to Harry Potter, at least not for me yet.**

**But I really, REALLY love them. Also it has one of my favorite characters in books & movies yet. Iggy, of course.**

**_~Nudge POV~_**

I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet. Max, of course, was going herself. And she was bringing Angel along. You didn't need the four-year-old's epic mind-reading skills to know she was Max's favorite.

Our leader now, I reminded myself.

I really, really, really, really hoped I would be the third one to go with her. To the town.

"Gazzy, you come too."

The six-year-old broke into a wide grin and he did a fist pump. I sighed, slumping back against the wall. Darn. I should've known it wouldn't be me.

They left soon after, Max drilling them with rules and expectations.

I hoped Max remembered to buy my citrus gum. She'd never gone grocery shopping alone before. Of course, none of us had. But Jeb was gone now. Forever. So Max would be our new mom. Our guardian, our leader.

Would she still be like my big sister? Or would she take on such a responsible role that she would be no fun anymore?

Jeb always remembered my Citrus gum.

And now he was dead.

I wandered into his office, the papers and files I didn't understand littering his desk. I heard the TV turn on; Fang must have decided to watch something.

I sat down in the swivel chair. The papers were yellowed, reeking of mold, and I gingerly picked something up. Files…a name…James Griffiths, whoever that was. I dropped it, feeling tears prickle at my eyes.

Jeb, my father figure, would study these late at night. What was he doing? What was he looking for in these old papers?

* * *

Max came back late that night. She didn't bring my Citrus gum, but she did bring a jumbo bag of chocolate-covered raisins.

Angel and I snuck them into our room. We'd only ever had chocolate raisins once before, and they were just _delish_, let me tell you. We knew it was mean, not sharing, but those raisins just weren't quite enough for six.

My mind wandered back to the papers. I hadn't read them, they smelled bad and brought back painful memories, but still…who was James? Maybe it was Jeb's real name. I always thought he had a strange name.

Then again, Nudge wasn't a name either. It was a…it was a…what was it Jeb called it? A verb?

"Angel," I said with a full mouth. "I don't want those papers on Jeb's desk there anymore…I can't stand looking at them."

My sister looked up thoughtfully. "So should we burn them?"

"Oh, no! We might need them at some point, you know? Like, if the School ever comes back and kidnaps one of us. Oh my God, what would we do if one of us got kidnapped? What if they took Max? Would Fang be our leader, 'cause he's next oldest? What if they took them both? Then would Iggy lead us until we got them back? Would we try to get them back? I mean – _hmph!_"

Angel clapped her tiny hand over my mouth. She gave me a stern look. "We'll put them away. I'm going to go tell Max. She'll know what to do."


	4. Chapter 4 Memory

Chapter 4: Memory

This chapter is Nudge's memory of the Flock's escape of the School. A non-canon version, because I don't know how it really went.

**_~Nudge POV~_**

_"Nudge? You call yourself Nudge, right?"_

_The Whitecoat was smiling at me. I hadn't seen anyone smile for a long time. Even Max didn't smile anymore. _

_"Nudge?"_

_Trembling, I nodded slowly. I would not talk…I would not talk. Not to him._

_The Whitecoat looked at my pitifully twisted wing. "That looks bad. Would you like for me to fix it?"_

_I paused. He seemed genuine, he really did, but it was the Whitecoats who had hurt my wing in the first place. It had been a whole week since I'd last flown. And now, this Whitecoat was claiming he was busting us out of this hellhole._

_At last, I spoke. "How'm I supposed know you're not lying to us?"_

_The Whitecoat smiled. "I don't blame you if you don't. In fact, I'd consider you fools if you did. You could, of course, stay here…"_

_"No!" I cried quickly, crawling towards the front of my cage. "No! If my friends are leaving, I wanna leave too."_

_I glanced at Max. Max, Max, Max. Subject Three to the Whitecoats. We'd named ourselves two years ago, in one of those big experiments that involved all six of us. Seeing how we'd react with no food. _

_Max nodded slowly. "It's worth a shot," she said quietly. _

_The Whitecoat unlocked my cage and I nearly threw myself out. It was nice to feel the tiles beneath my bare feet. For so, so, so, so long, I'd felt nothing but the padded floor of my crate._

_He let Fang out next. He stood there silently, regarding the Whitecoat. Suspicion lit his gaze. _

_Then Angel and Gazzy were free. They shared a cage. Then Max. And then, finally, Iggy._

_The Whitecoat shoved us into some kind of box on wheels. There wasn't any light in there, not even air holes. With the six of us shoved in there, it was hard to breathe. Downy soft white wings tickled my nose. Angel's._

_I could feel us moving, moving down some hall. There were many twists and turns. I heard a door open. I paused, listening intently for the sound of the latch opening. And it soon did._

_I clambered out, first, gasping for sweet, sweet air, eyes closed in a moment of seven-year-old passion._

_When I blinked my eyes open, I saw a large cement lot expanse far below us. We were on a balcony of some sort. I recognized it almost at once. This was the place where they took us to fly._

_The Whitecoat expected us to fly. He pointed out a large kind of machine – a helicopter, he called it. That would be our escape. "Fly there, and we'll get out of here. I know a place already."_

_Max gathered little Angel into her arms, and the two-year-old wrapped her skinny arms around her neck. _

_I leaned over the edge of the balcony – then paused. My wing. I couldn't fly with my injured wing. I flashed the Whitecoat a nervous glance. _

_He paused, mouth opening and closing, then he said, "Maybe you can take the stairs with me – "_

_I felt arms wrap around me and hold me caringly. "I'll take her."_

_I looked up into Iggy's face. I'd never seen him up close before. Never seen his eyes. They were icy blue, clouded, pupils scarcely visible. _

_The Whitecoat looked nervous. I guess he was wondering how well a blind ten-year-old mutant bird freak could fly with a load, but he only agreed._

_With me in Iggy's arms, we were soaring. Short flight, sure, but it was still comforting. When you're not concentrating on flying yourself, it feels like you're…well, floating._

_My skinny arms were wrapped around Iggy's neck. His wide, creamy wings beat steadily as until we landed on the cement. I thought he'd deposit me on the asphalt, but he still held me gently. _

_Then I heard Angel scream. "Erasers!"_

_My eyes widened as the wolf-mutt things scrambled across the pavement. Armed._

_Then the Whitecoat was there, whipping open the door to the – what did he say it was called? Hollycopper? – and near throwing us in._

_He was at the seat in the front. Lots of buttons and stuff up there. Iggy dropped me in one of the seats, and I shuddered slightly. How did he even know it was there? I mean, he couldn't see. Anything. At all. And he'd never been in this Hollycopper before._

_We were rising in the air, a loud chopchopchop sound ringing in my ears. _

_It was then I saw the explosion._

_I don't know how to describe it, but it was right below where our Hollycopper had once been, and I could see the concrete flying in the air and raining back down._

_The sound hurt my ears, and I glanced at Iggy. Surely that sound hurt _his _enhanced ears even more than they did my normal ones._

_He didn't seem to be in pain. Instead, a dreamy look passed over his face. Happiness. _

_We'd never been happy before. _

_"What was that noise?" he asked. "The whole…y'know, KA-BAM sound. What was it?"_

_"A bomb," the Whitecoat answered in a tense voice. _

_"Bomb?" I echoed, testing out the strange new word. I was learning a lot of words today. _

_"Bomb." Iggy smiled. "That was a…a wonderful noise."_

_"Bomb, bomb, bomb!" giggled the Gasman. "It was really pretty, too, Iggy!"_

* * *

_I don't know why we trusted the Whitecoat. But he fixed my wing. Told us his name – Jeb. Little did I know then that this guy was soon to be our father figure. _


	5. Chapter 5 Birthday

Chapter 5: Birthday

**Iggy's birthday! Oh, come ****_on_****, people. He would ****_love_**** to have a bomb for his birthday. He likes his explosions. **

**_Iggy POV~_**

The explosion was small. Small but wonderful. I shivered with delight as I heard the debris rained down.

"Okay," I said, turning to face the Gasman. "Okay. That was…that was…amazing!"

I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. There's an expression that goes, _My vision clouded._ Well, I clearly don't have that issue, do I? But tears of joy still formed – I could feel them.

I could feel the Gasman's pride. "Was it a good bomb? Did I do it right? Not much damage done. Just some burned-up branches – I think they were already dead. Pity. Oh, and something's caught on fire – I think it's one of Fang's shoes. Oops."

I laughed, grabbing his hand as we began to run home. I yanked him behind me, darting through the familiar landscape. He tried to wriggle out of my grip but failed.

It was quiet without Jeb in the house. Without the rustling of the papers every second he wasn't with us. He'd look at them at night as well, I knew. While everyone was sleeping, I'd hear that noise, shuffle-shuffle-shuffle, late into the night. Kept me up.

"Iggy! Guess what? When Max went out, she got a cake, 'cause you weren't going to make your own…and you're the only one that can cook in here. Ooh, and while you were with that bomb and Gazzy, I got you a present! Here!"

Nudge slapped something into my hand. I felt it. Boxed, small, thin. Wrapped in paper. I had a feeling I knew what it was. Gum. I laughed.

I still remembered the day we escaped. I remember holding her, protecting her, as I flew to the chopper. I remember her skinny arms wrapped around my neck, hearing her shaky, fearful breaths.

I remember feeling needed.

That day was one of my happiest. Not just because we escaped the School, but because I felt like someone actually needed me. _Me_, the blind mutant freak. And of course, that was the first time I ever heard a bomb, but that's beside the point.

I made the rest of the dinner. After eating it, and the cake (which the whole Flock claimed wasn't as good as mine, and not to sound to full of myself, but I think they were right) we flew.

God, I love flying. I love the feeling of the wind in my feathers, in my hair, on my face. I love hearing the rest of the Flock laugh around me.

"Catch me, catch me!" Angel's four-year-old shriek sounded and I surged upwards, following the sound of her wings until my arms closed around her and she giggled.

I threw her in the air and she let herself fall for a moment before I heard her wings flap and she pulled herself back up.

"Hey, Ig," Max's voice sounded somewhere to my right, and I turned in her general direction.

"Yeah?"

"You're twelve now – mine and Fang's age!"

I could hear the smile in her voice.

Laughter, flying, freedom. I hadn't been this happy in a while. Not since Jeb was gone.

I still remembered everything he did to make him our dad.

Like teaching Gazzy and I how to make bombs. How to cook. How to pick a lock.

Heck, getting us out of the School was enough to make him our idol. I knew Max looked up to him. But I also knew he was gone now, no point in discussing it anymore.

Max was our leader now. A mother to the little ones.

But maybe not. Even with a real grown-up in our lives, one that didn't do all kinds of unthinkable things to us, the Gasman looked up to me.

So, maybe, just maybe, I was needed now, too.

That was a happy thought.


	6. Chapter 6 Staying

Chapter 6: Staying

**Oh, man, I love Maximum Ride. I've made my OC, her name is Annalisa and she has raven DNA. She escaped the School with the Flock and will be seen in later Maximum Ride stories of mine. **

**_~Iggy POV~_**

That night, the girls got rid of the papers on Jeb's desk. Shoved them into the back of the closet. I could hear them from my room.

My fingers reached towards the night table and I opened the package of gum Nudge had got me for my birthday. I popped one into my mouth. Citrus flavor exploded in my mouth. Sharp, tangy. I could see why Nudge made such a big deal out of this: it was damn good.

"Do you think my file is in here, Max?"

Nudge's voice drifted down the hall, and I froze, listening intently.

"I don't know. Maybe. Probably. But we're not going to look." Max's voice was harsh.

"But I wanna know! I mean, what if I see my real name? And who my real parents are – if I had a mom and dad. Because maybe I was just a test tube baby, but MAYBE I had a regular, human mom and dad and maybe my files say who they are, you know? Where I was born. Maybe they miss me. Maybe I could go and find them."

Our real parents. I didn't wonder much about parents, not like Nudge did. We'd never needed parents, not when Jeb was here. And we were doing just fine now with just Max. But for Nudge, who was only nine…

"Nudge." Max's voice was firm. "I know how you feel, but I need you to put those pages back."

I winced on Nudge's part, and heard her sigh reluctantly. More shuffling. After several minutes, the closet door shut and their footsteps sounded down the hall.

The files were gone. We would never have to look at them again. Or, at least, the rest of the Flock wouldn't.

* * *

"Iggy…" Angel's small hand tugged my shirt.

"Yeah?"

"Will you come pick strawberries with me today? Just you and me?" Her four-year-old voice tingled with youth.

"Sure I will," I retorted gently.

"I knew you were going to," Angel replied. "I read your mind."

I groaned, but swung her onto my shoulders and we ran out the door. She shrieked with laughter until I finally dropped her onto the grass.

I helped her collect them and gather the berries in her skirt. The sun was shining – I could feel it on my face – and the birds were singing, like some stereotypical cartoon of a happy day.

That's when I smelled it. Dog. My muscles tensed, and Angel must have noticed, because she froze. Or maybe she just read my mind.

"There are wolf hairs right there," she whispered. Okay. So she read my mind. Again. Much as I loved the little kid, it was really starting to scare me.

Angel dropped something into my hand and I fingered it. Eraser hair. I shivered.

"They were here," Angel said softly. "The Erasers."

Yes, they were.

* * *

"I don't believe this. Should we leave? We've got nowhere to go! " I could hear Max pacing.

"We should stay here," Angel said firmly from somewhere to my right. "I can hear them thinking. They don't know where we are."

God, Angel could creep me out sometimes, even if I did love her. **(A/N: This is NOT romantic love! Get over yourselves, people. He loves her like a sister. Romance between Iggy and Angel would be pedophilic.) **

"But why would we find Eraser hair?" Max sounded distressed.

"I don't know. I can't hear everything. But I can hear them wondering where we are." Angel's voice was sweet. "We can stay here, Max. We're safe!"

I think Max was nodding, because it would make sense in the context. "Okay. Okay. People, Angel's right. We'll stay here."

"_Yes!_" Nudge yelped. "Yes! I love it here. It's so-o-o-o pretty, and it'd really fun to fly in. I mean ,there's so much open space, and – _hmph!_" She spluttered as somebody must have put their hand over her mouth.

"All right. Fine." Max sat down. "Iggy? You make dinner. There are frozen burgers in the freezer."


	7. Chapter 7 Panic

Chapter 7: Panic

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter wasn't updated as quickly as the others. I decided to continue my Les Miserables one-shot, _Secret Friendship_ into a series of one-shots and I owe all my readers of my Hunger Games story, _Sue's Promise_, an update. But here you have it! Ladies and gentlemen, Maximum Ride chapter number seven!**

**Oh, and please review. I have cookies, and they're still warm!**

_**~Maximum POV~**_

It was similar to the day Angel and Iggy found the Eraser hair. Sun shining, birds singing, and all that.

I was sprawled on the couch with Fang watching a sci-fi movie called _Star Wars_ that was showing on TV. Iggy was giving the Gasman a lock-picking class. Nudge and Angel were playing ball outside.

I cast a bemused glance at Fang. He always was so quiet. Like one of the drones. C3-PO and R2-D2.

Suddenly, Iggy's head snapped up. I froze, listening. After all, he was our early-warning signal. Then I heard it, too.

Nudge. Screaming. Screaming one long, never-ending shriek.

* * *

The four of us ran as fast as we could. Nudge and Angel were behind the house. The basketball lay abandoned. Then I saw Angel. She lay sprawled out on the grass, eyes closed, seemingly not breathing.

Nudge stood, paralyzed with shock and fear, over her small form. I dropped to my knees. "Angel?" I whispered.

She didn't move. I gripped her wrist for a pulse, but felt…nothing.

The Gasman stood, wide-eyed and scared. Fang was hurriedly explaining everything to Iggy. Nudge was crying.

"Angel!" I screamed, slapping the ground next to her ear. "Angel!"

She didn't move. She didn't move. My baby didn't move.

My Angel.

My mind flew back to one of Jeb's lessons. CPR. Compressions. How many did you do on a child?

"Fang! _Fang! _How many compressions do I do?"

Fang paused, thinking. "Fifteen. I think."

I leaned in close to her mouth, to be sure if she was breathing or not…I was about to have another fit when I realized she was. Small, faint, shallow breaths.

"Nudge," I cried, "what happened?"

Nudge shook her head. "I don't know! The ball, like, rolled way over there" – she pointed somewhere – "and I went after it, then I came back, and Angel…she was just lying here, you know? I'm sorry…" Her voice broke off in sobs. Slowly, Iggy walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.

A small whimper pierced the air. I spun. Angel was stirring slightly, and I grabbed her hand. "Angel!"

She surged upwards suddenly in a bout of fierce coughing. Her eyes were screwed shut.

"Angel!" The Gasman exclaimed, relieved.

Angel shuddered, wrapping her skinny arms round my neck. "Max…"

I held her close. "What is it, my angel? What happened?"

Angel shook her head slowly, blue eyes turning up to me. "I…I mean…I had a vision."


	8. Chapter 8 Angel

Chapter 8: Angel

**Okay, people. So I kind of owe _you_ after that extreme cliffhanger ending. I considered being evil and ending it with Max seeing Angel lying on the ground, seemingly dead, but then I realized I only have one reviewer and she deserves better. (Kate-the-Great-and-Powerful, fly on!) For any readers who haven't been reviewing…but have been reading…*narrows eyes*. **

**So yeah. Here is an update. (See? I'm nice. I don't leave you hanging for too long. You should be nice, too, by bleedin' reviewing!)**

_**~Maximum POV~**_

Iggy poured Angel a giant glass of orange juice. She gulped it down, and he poured her another one. The Gasman and Nudge fixed her a huge platter of crackers and cheese and popcorn, because that's the kind of healthy food you feed someone who was recently unconscious, temporarily had no pulse, and apparently had a mysterious vision.

I sat down next to her at the table and put an arm around her. "Angel? You had… a vision?"

"Uh-huh." Angel nodded, swinging her legs and munching on popcorn. The Gasman leaned over and grabbed a small handful from her plate.

"What sort of vision?" I asked slowly.

Angel looked up at me. "I…I don't know what it was. I mean, I could tell what I saw, but I don't know what it meant."

"What did you see?" Iggy asked, impatient,

"Um…well, we were here. Near the strawberry bush, actually, all six of us. And some Erasers came and they…" Angel paused, shuddered. "They took me away in a chopper."

Silence filled the air.

"Only…" Angel continued, "I looked, like, older. We all did." She took a sip of her orange juice. The Gasman leaned over and took more of her popcorn. Angel stuck her tongue out and slapped his hand.

She got up, grabbing the glass of orange juice and the plate of health food, and walked into the room she shared with Nudge.

Why is it that she just walks into her room like that after her striking revelations?

"Oh," The Gasman said quietly. "Oh."

I remained silent. Angel. A vision. The Erasers taking her away…I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself.

As if by some bizarre call, the others retreated into their rooms. I could hear Nudge talking to Angel, but I caught a lot of words like "mall" and "pie" so I don't think it was about her vision. Iggy started to cook. The Gasman went into his room doing God-knows-what.

Let's test your intelligence. Who did that leave in the living room? Bang – on: me and Fang.

"So," I said slowly, "do you think Angel's vision was…well, real?"

Fang grunted. "Maybe. I don't know."

"I mean," I went on, "they did all kinds of weird things to us at the School. Why not have her see into the future?"

"She can read minds," Fang pointed out.

"True, that. So you think…"

"It could very well be one of the experiments they did on her, Max. 'Let's make the littlest one read minds and see into the future!' Because why not?" Fang opened a box of Cheerios and munched a handful dry.

"Jeb would know what to do," I said, almost instinctively.

"Would he really, though, Max? Would he really?" Fang replied.

I paused. What was he saying? Of _course_ Jeb would know what to do. He was our dad, a grown-up. A parent. Heck, he was normal. We were mutant bird kids.

Fang began to walk backwards out of the room. Seemingly melting into the shadows. "Think about it, Max."

I was trying to process it too. Fang had actually said more that two words in one go. This was a new plus for him.


	9. Chapter 9 Sudden

Chapter 9: Sudden

**There will be no author's note for this chapter. Oh, wait…**

_**~Nudge POV~**_

"Hey, Nudge!"

I turned around to see standing next to Iggy. "Yeah?" I asked.

"Wanna fly with us?" Angel asked. "Max, Fang, and Gazzy are staying here, but we're going. Are _you _coming?"

"Oh, for sure!" I exclaimed, leaping up. "You know how much I love flying. It's just so…so…you know?"

"I know," said Iggy.

* * *

"Can we, like, not tell Max and go to the city and get mani-pedis? Or massages? Or something?" I begged as I flew alongside Iggy and Angel.

"Nope," said Iggy shortly.

"What's _mani-pedis_?" asked Angel.

I swooped slightly closer to her. I was starting to coast a lot. My wings were getting sore from flapping. "Its when you get, like, a manicure and a pedicure all in one." I explained.

Angel looked interested.

We flew in circles for a while. In silence. My wings were starting to get even sorer and I have no idea if that's a word or not but I don't care.

"Guys?" I said. "I'm going down. Rest my wings for a while, okay? Because they're so-o-o-o sore. Like, I feel like someone's ripping out my feathers or something. Do you ever get that feeling? When you fly too much, I mean? Because I get it sometimes and I just wanna sit down and have soda or something."

"Yep," Iggy answered shortly. I stared at him. He was starting to talk as little as Fang!

I swooped down, just loving the feeling of the wind in my feathers. I dropped lightly on the grass near some trees, folded up my wings. Leaned back, taking in the feeling of the sunset on my face. Well, that, and watching the sunset.

I've always loved sunsets. They remind me of romance films. Sometimes, I wonder if I had a real mom and dad, we'd go to the beach together and watch the sunset and eat ice cream and chew Citrus gum and have mani-pedis.

I watched Iggy and Angel laughing and soaring far above. Whenever we flew, Jeb would watch us as we dipped and dove in the sky looking all envious.

_I'll join them soon_, I thought.

I missed Jeb. I missed everything there is to miss about somebody. I'd never told anyone, but I always saw Jeb as one of our Flock even though he couldn't fly.

He was like a parent.

I stood up, ready to unfurl my wings. And then, something really scary happened. Something that made me scream.

The world suddenly went black.


	10. Chapter 10 Dark

Chapter 10: Dark

T**o clear up any confusion of my readers: Nudge didn't faint or die or anything. It will all make sense in this chapter. Kind of.**

**Oh, and to all ye Planet Earth lovers out there – don't get to me wrong. I love that show, but I don't think Nudge would.**

**_~Nudge POV~_**

The world was all black. I could make out faint silhouettes of the trees, but the setting sun was gone. Just…poof.

I screamed again. What was happening? Why had the world just…gone? I wanted Max or somebody.

I wanted Jeb.

I heard wing beats from somewhere to my left, and I whirl to face the sound. I can just make out Iggy and Angel in the darkness. They land next to me.

"Angel says everything's gone dark," said Iggy. "Is she right?"

I threw my arms around him. "Oh, thank God you're here! Yeah…she's right. Everything is just real dark all of a sudden. Like, I can kind of see the trees and I can kind of see you, but the sun's gone. And there's no moon or stars or anything. It's just all black."

Iggy paused. "Okay. Well. That's weird. Um – we should get to the house. Can you see any lights?"

I squinted. "Nope."

Angel spoke up. "I can hear Max and Fang and Gazzy thinking. It's all gone dark at home, too. The lights went out, and they're really scared. And worried about us."

Iggy took each of our hands and led us to the house. For obvious reasons, the sudden darkness had no impact on him. Now _he _was leading _us. _

_This must be how Iggy feels all the time,_ I thought. _Like, lost and seeing just black._

We got to the house in a matter of minutes. The door didn't open at once, not until Iggy whispered, "It's us."

I could barely see the house. Like everything else around us, the house was just a vague silhouette.

Max grabbed for Angel and pushed us in quickly. "Oh, God – what happened? Do you know anything?"

Angel piped up from behind me, "Everything went dark. There's not even the sun."

In the darkness, I couldn't see Max at all. Somehow, it was darker in here that outside. I heard a clicking sound and we all tensed.

"The flashlights aren't working!" Fang reported. Voice tense.

"Why…" Max began in awe.

We heard voices. Coming from the living room. My eyes widened. Everyone else's probably did, too. "What…" Max started.

Running my hands along the plaster for guidance, I rushed into the living room. A faint glow could be seen in the doorway. Flickering.

I was afraid. Really afraid. Even so, I wanted to be brave. I burst into the room only to gape in confusion and awe.

The Gasman sat on the sofa, staring at what I was staring at.

Max and the others entered and they stared, too, in utter confusion. "Is that…." Iggy began to say.

"Yep," Max answered.

The TV was working. In the light, I could see everyone else, and it was a relief. But why was the TV working? Why not the flashlights? Why had the sun gone out, heck?

My mind wandered back to a time when Jeb was still with us. Maybe a year ago.

_I'm about eight, curled up on the sofa with Gazzy, Angel, and Max. We're watching TV. Jeb is in the other room, doing God-knows-what with those papers if his, and Fang is helping Iggy cook._

_It's cold outside. For June. I'm cozy here. We're all sharing a dish of nachos and cheese, smelling the veggie potpies that Iggy and Fang are making. The show we are watching is über…um, unique. I'm not big on _Planet Earth_, mind you, but Jeb says it helps us learn and Angel likes to try and tell what the animals are thinking. _

"_They're afraid of the lion," Angel informs us, speaking of the gazelles. Or impalas. Or antelopes. Or whatever they are._

_Then, it happens. The TV flashes black, then goes out entirely. The lights above us snap off. Angel screams._

"_What's going on?" Iggy yells. _

"_The lights are all out! And the TV!" I shriek. _

_Jeb runs into the room. I run up to him, and he scoops me up and spins me around, just like I love._

"_It's called a…a blackout," Angel announces, reading Jeb's mind. _

_After a bit, he gets us all some flashlights and we sit down and he reads to us. Book called _Harry Potter. _It's a lot better than _Planet Earth_, and I settle down, happily leaning against Iggy as we all listen and eat the nachos._

But Jeb wasn't coming to read to us this time.

He wasn't coming back ever.

And we were going to have to tough this one out.

Alone.


	11. Chapter 11 Indifferent

Chapter 11: Indifferent

**So, here is Chapter 11. I'm also excited to announce that I have a new reviewer! Many thanks to ****Ruetheday****! I don't own Maximum Ride. +steals Iggy+ Except for Iggy. He's miiiine! **

**Sorry this one's so short. I meant to make it longer. The next will be longer, and have a lot of Iggy XD**

**_~Iggy POV~_**

The fridge was working, too. When I opened it, I could hear the humming sound, feel the warmth of the bulb as my hand passed near it.

Moments ago, I'd checked the stove. Not working. Seemed like it was going to be Cheerios for dinner tonight.

I reached up and opened the cupboard, grabbed the bowls from where I knew they were. I lined them up and reached for the jumbo bag of Cheerios. Stuck my hand in to make sure. I tipped the bag over each bowl, then the milk.

"Dinner is served!" I called.

Unlike on most days, when I said those exact words, I didn't hear feet trampling towards the kitchen. Nobody was climbing over eachother to see what there was too eat. Rather, the footsteps were hesitant and slow, and I knew the others were walking carefully, fingers along the plaster, to maneuver their way through this mysterious, sudden darkness.

I heard the Gasman's footsteps first. His chair scraped. I heard him sit down. "What is there?" he asked. "You told me the stove wasn't working."

"Cheerios," I answered. I put a bowl in front of him. "Fridge's working."

"Why the fridge?" asked the Gasman. "Why the TV? Why not the flashlights? Why the _sun_?"

"I don't know," I answered as Fang and Nudge's footsteps approach.

"What is this?" asked Nudge. I hear her sit down. "Oatmeal? Because you _know_ how much I _hate_ oatmeal. It's just so gooey and disgusting and stuff. I mean, it doesn't taste like anything! And…_hmph!_"

I clasped my hand over her mouth. She peeled my fingers off. I assumed she was scowling. I almost asked Fang if she was, but then I remembered that they couldn't see much better than I could in this darkness.

Once Max and Angel joined us, we began our meal. It was a quiet affair. Everyone was just so _upset_. Which made sense. What we were going through was not normal. At all.

_Not that it makes a difference for _you, I thought bitterly. I spooned an angry handful of Cheerios into my mouth. _You're blind anyway._

I'd only eaten half of my bowl, but suddenly, I wasn't hungry anymore. Normally, we needed to eat much more than regular humans. We would have needed at least three bowls of Cheerios. But all traces of hunger had been sucked out of me, replaced by bitterness. I needed to blow something up.

I stood sharply. Felt the rest of the Flock glance up at me. I left my bowl where it was and entered my room. I reached for my matches, where I knew they'd be. Grabbed my pillow.

I climbed out the window. It was more peaceful out here. If I focused, I could feel the sun's warm rays on my face. I paused Wait. I could feel the sun?

They said the sun was gone.

But I could feel it.


	12. Chapter 12 Thoughts

Chapter 12: Thoughts

**So, this chapter is going to have some sad parts. Or, I'll try to make them sad. But heads up, reviewers! I'm going to have a reviewer's contest!**

**Even though this chapter has sad parts, you have to leave the funniest review possible. The winner will have their review featured at the beginning of Chapter 13 and will also get a request in relation to ****_Alone_****.**

**Basically, the light is going to come back! (gasp) But the Flock is going to go on facing challenges. Sadly, I have no idea for their second challenge. Along with the funny review, you must offer an idea! The best idea will be used!**

**Oh yeah, baby. This story is gonna rock the house!**

* * *

**_~Iggy POV~_**

I didn't tell the others about feeling the sun. What was the point? I didn't want to scare the little ones, and Max was under enough stress as it was. Course, Angel could catch the thought from my mind, but I'd do my best.

I blew up my pillow, and after hearing it explode, I felt a bit better. I climbed in back through my window and flopped onto the bed. Maybe I'd fly later.

I listened to the other make their tentative way to their rooms. Their footsteps were slow and careful, and I could here them running their fingers along the wall for guidance.

I just lay there, listening to the crickets. After a while, I started to fall asleep.

Sleeping is another thing I love to do. Not just because sleeping is pleasant and relaxing and peaceful, but because when I sleep, I dream.

I can see in my dreams.

It's great, dreaming. I don't know if the other experienced this, this thrill, but I loved it.

I was flying. Below me I could _see _rolling green hills and beautiful landscapes. There were birds circling me, curious about this interesting thing they'd never seen before.

I heard explosions and looked down to catch a glimpse of something blowing up. The Gasman waved me down to join him nearby and I gave him a thumbs-up and started to soar down –

"Iggy?"

A voice woke me, and my eyes snapped open on a sudden, looming darkness. "Wha'?"

"Iggy… " Nudge's voice sounded from the doorway. "…I have to pee."

"Me, too." Angel's small voice chirped.

I groaned and buried my face in my sheets. My head was sore from sleeping without a pillow, and I'd just been dreaming. "Can't you go yourself? Do you have to wake me up to tell me that?"

"It's all dark, remember?" said Nudge. "I mean, I know it doesn't matter anyway for you, but it does for us and we don't know how to get to the bathroom and we need to pee."

Oh, yes. Everything had gone dark. How could I have forgotten? Oh, yeah – because I couldn't actually _tell. _

"How'd you get in here?" I asked.

"Your room is right next to ours," Angel answered.

I walked up to Angel and Nudge. I felt Nudge's hand in mine, but I groped for Angel's and didn't feel it.

"Um, Ang - "

Suddenly, I felt her small hands on my back, and her feet as she climbed up onto my shoulders. "Can I have a piggy back ride there? Oh, I just read your mind and you said yes. Okay, thanks."

As I walked Angel and Nudge to the bathroom, I couldn't help but think, _This feels so _good. _All of a sudden, _they're _reliant on _me_. Me! Suddenly, it's them who are helpless and me who offers them a hand. _

And I loved that feeling.

Suddenly, Angel said, "I'm sorry you feel that way."

"What?" I asked.

"I read your mind again," she answered sweetly.

I gritted my teeth. "Jesus, Angel, will you cut it out – hey, we have to turn left here and…I present to you…the bathroom!"

Angel dropped to the ground and waited for Nudge. There was an awkward silence between us until the toilet flushed. The tap turned on. After several seconds, Nudge opened the door.

After Angel used the washroom, I led them back to their room. Again, I couldn't help but feel so dang _good_ about being relied on.

Because of that, I almost didn't want that darkness to end, I wanted it to keep on going.

Nudge crawled into bed. I was about to turn around and head back to my room when Angel said, "Iggy? Will you tuck me in?"

I paused, then agreed. I heard her slowly walk to her bed. Lie down. I took hold of the blankets, which Max had told me were pink, and pulled them over her. "Good night, little Angel."

"I think it's sad you feel that way," Angel piped up suddenly.

I frowned. "Feel what way?"

I could feel her stern look – for a four-year-old, Max and Fang said she was surprisingly good at it. How was I to know, though? They'd taken my eyesight before Angel was even born.

There were a lot of things I wished I could see. Like my friends, for one. Obviously, Nudge, Max, and Fang looked much older than they did the last time I'd seen their faces, and I hadn't ever seen the Gasman and Angel at all.

My explosions. My wings. The food I cooked.

People's _expressions, _so I could actually have a normal _conversation _with someone.

"You know what I mean," said Angel.

I sat down on her bed, stroked her hair. "It's a nice feeling, Angel."

"Yeah, I know. First I pick up on happy thoughts. But…you're thinking sad ones now. What are you…"

"Please don't read my mind again."

"Okay," said Angel agreeably. Then: "Iggy? Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure," I said. I leaned in to where her voice was coming from.

Her voice was so soft, even my enhanced ears barely picked it up. "I had another vision. I was a little older, and I was in the School, and I think…I think Jeb was there."

* * *

When I fell back asleep, I dreamed a much more unpleasant dream. I saw an older Angel, crying and huddled in the corner of her cage in the School. They were doing all kinds of things to her, taking her blood, electrocuting her, burning her. Making her run in incomprehensible mazes.

When I woke, I was sweating. I was too tired to open my eyes, so I got up to make breakfast. Left them closed. One of the perks of being blind.

Out of instinct, though it clearly didn't make a difference, I snapped on the light as I walked into the kitchen. Of course, it wouldn't have turned on. In the strange darkness, the lights wouldn't work.

But then I heard the sound of a light bulb turning on. I froze. If I stood on my tiptoes and reached my hand up, I could just feel the warmth of the bulb for the hall light.

For a moment, I thought it was my imagination, but then I heard Nudge's feet. Judging by the heavy thumping, I assumed she was jumping up and down.

I heard her door open. "Guys! Guys!" she yelled. "The lights – they're back!"

* * *

For some reason, only the hall light and the light in Nudge and Angel's room worked. Flashlights didn't work either, and the sun wasn't back.

And then, while I was pouring milk into the bowls of Cheerios for breakfast, I heard a flickering sound (can flickering be a noise, too?) and Nudge screaming.

"Lights went out again?" I asked, sliding one bowl across the table.

"Yes," whispered Nudge. I heard her chair scrape as she sat down. The fridge was open so the other could get a bit of light to eat by, but it was still presumably really dark.

"What's it like, anyways?" I asked. Pouring more Cheerios. "The darkness?"

Nudge paused. "Well, if I squint, I can see silhouettes and bright colors, like my shirt and your eyes – did you know you have, like, really bright eyes? They're, like, electric blue. But other than that, everything is really dark. Like, I feel trapped." She paused. "Is that how you ever feel sometimes? Trapped?"

Trapped.

I'd never thought of it that way, being trapped. When the scientists at the School took my eyesight, I'd only been six and didn't know most words anyways. Spending your life in a cage being referred to as "it" and "Subject Eight" can do that to you. I remember feeling scared and vulnerable. Angry.

But in a way, I was.

Trapped in darkness.

And now, the others knew how I was feeling.

**This chapter was even longer than I intended. **


	13. Chapter 13 Television

Chapter 13: Television

**So, chapter 13. The lucky number.**

**WARNING: This chapter contains mild sexual content. So if you're going to freak out, or something don't read the end. You'll get the cue. **

**This chapter contains more interaction with the Flock than plot development, but the idea came to me and I couldn't resist. **

**Also, nobody did my contest, no review will be featured. (How's that for revenge?) **

**_~Maximum POV~_**

Television, as they say, is one of the world's many wonders. And right now, it was our light source.

The lights and sun and stove had been gone for one week. We'd had exactly one occasion when some had come back on. That was the first morning. Today, we were hosting another meeting. The TV, on a "mute" function, was our light. Stay or go? Stay or go?

"All right," I said, leaning back against the front of the sofa, "do we stay or do we go? We're running out of food. And I think if I have one more Cheerio in my life I'm going to rip someone's throat out."

"I like Cheerios!" the Gasman piped up.

I flashed him a smile. "I know you do."

On the TV screen, a pretty red-haired girl was flirting with a handsome guy with dark skin.

Angel crawled into Iggy's lap. "I think we should stay here."

I looked at her in surprise. "Whaaat? Why?"

Angel shrugged. "Cause I just know we should. I have a feeling."

My gaze skirted over to the TV. "Angel…"

Angel pouted. "I've been right about a whole bunch of things, 'cause I get feelings and visions and stuff. And this time, it's a happy feeling."

"You had _one _vision!" Fang burst out, surprising all of us. Four words in one sentence. That was like Nudge _not _talking, Angel _not _reading our minds, or Iggy _not _blowing something up.

"I had two," Angel mumbled. "I had another one a week ago when I was sleeping."

Fang and I exchanged a glance.

On the TV screen, the girl and boy were walking into an apartment holding hands.

"You never told any of us this!" the Gasman exclaimed. His voice shaky. "How come you didn't?"

Angel shook her head. Then her gaze flickered over to Fang. "I don't think so."

Fang looked confused. "What?"

"I don't think Jeb would know what to do if he was here."

Fang leapt up from the chair he was sitting in. "Godammit, Angel, if you read my mind one more time, I swear I'll-"

She shrieked. "No! Don't tickle me!" Reading his mind _again_.

Iggy stared in her general direction. Sighed. "Ang, the point is for you _not _to read his mind so he _won't _tickle you."

"Don't tickle me, Fang!" Angel pleaded, but it was too late. In seconds, he's swept her up and deposited her on the floor. He tickled her in all the sensitive places, like under the arms, under the chin. Her feet. The part of her back where her wings met.

That was pretty much how our meeting ended. Until I saw what was happening on the TV screen. "Fang, should we…you know…turn that off?"

Fang glanced at the screen, got up, sparing Angel. Covered the Gasman's eyes. I did the same to Nudge. She tried to peel my fingers away – ("why don't you want me to see?") – but I was stronger than her. At last, she gave up.

Angel sat up. She looked at the TV screen, and her blond eyebrows furrowed in four-year-old confusion. "What are they _doing_?"

"What are they doing?" asked Iggy. "I mean, I think I know, but…"

Fang, his hands still over the Gasman's eyes, leaned over and whispered in his ears. Iggy nodded with a "Yeah. Thought so."

Angel cocked her head to one side and looked at us. "What's sex?"

"God, Angel, _stop reading our minds_!"


	14. Chapter 14 Perfect

Chapter 14: Perfect

**Yay, doesn't this chapter title make you want to sing? **

**IMPORTANT A/N: This chapter may be found slightly insulting to those who are strongly religious. I mean no insult to your beliefs. **

**_~Nudge POV~_**

I woke up before anyone else did, which was strange because I'm usually the _last_ one up. I wasn't tired, which was also weird. But I got up, glancing at the curtain that separated my part of the room from Angel's. She was whimpering, and I crept up and poked my head in.

She looked smaller than ever, curled up in a nest of stuffed animals and pink blankets. Her small head was laid on the pillow, blond hair spread out behind her like some kind of halo. An angel's halo. Her eyes were moving beneath the shut lids, and I knew she was having a nightmare. Silently, I drew my head back and walked into the living room. Dragging my fingers against the rough plaster on the walls to lead me to the living room.

I was surprised to see Iggy already up and pouring Cheerios. There was a slice of bread next to each bowl.

"Morning, Nudge," he said. "What do you want on your bread?"

I flopped onto the sofa, glancing at my room. I could just make out the door – open ajar – in the faint light from the fridge. Was Angel okay? What if she was having another vision?

"Nudge? Are you okay? You're not talking…"

"Jam," I said vaguely. In the half-light, I saw Iggy nod and reach for the jam. His fingers stroked it to make sure he had the right jar, then he spread it on one of the pieces of bread. "Hey, Iggy?"

He paused. Fingers hovering above the box of Cheerios. "Yeah?"

"Do you agree with Angel? I mean, do you think Jeb would know what to do if he was here?" My voice was smaller than I meant for it to be.

Iggy left the breakfast and came to sit next to me. "The darkness, you mean? Yes – I mean, yes, I agree with Angel. I don't think he'd know what to do. I mean, he was just a regular human. What could he have done?"

"He would've made us leave," I said, feeling tears well up in eyes. I sniffed. "And if this goes on for much longer…"

"Max will, too," Iggy echoed my thoughts. It often astonished me, how he could always tell what I was thinking. Like Angel. Especially since he couldn't see my face.

"I don't want to leave," I whimpered. I scrubbed at the tears with the sleeve of my nightdress. "I like it here. It's perfect."

Iggy leaned his head back. "Almost…too perfect."

"I like it!" I said hotly. Unsure why that hostile tone crept into my voice.

"Actually," said Iggy, "I take that back. I don't believe in perfect."

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously.

"I mean-" Iggy waved his hands around the room – "If there was such thing as perfect, none of this would be happening! If this place were perfect, the freaking _sun _wouldn't be gone! If there was perfect, then…we wouldn't be mutant bird kids, wouldn't have had to go through Hell back at the School! I was there for ten years, and you for seven. Even Angel, who was there for two years…heck, _one day _is too much!"

I sat there, a bit stunned. "Isn't that God?" I asked quietly. "If there was God, then why'd he let this happen to us? Or Buddha. Or Zeus. Or Jesus. Or – _hmph!_" I let out a muffled sound of protest as Iggy covered my mouth. I pried his fingers off. "Hey!"

"I get it," said Iggy. "Some greater being. That, too. And if there is a God…all kinds of awful stuff happens to people all over the world, not just us. Once I heard, on TV, that God lets bad stuff happen because it's meant to be. If so, he's a real jerk."

"Yeah," I answered. "Some greater being." I paused. "What do you think happened to…to Ari?"

Ari. Ari had been Jeb's son. Looked a lot like him – same auburn hair. But different eyes. His were cool, even for a three-year-old, mistrustful. He'd been left behind. Once I'd asked Jeb, "what about your son?" and he said, "he'll be fine. He'll be safe; they won't hurt him."

Ari spent a lot of time watching us. He'd follow us around when we weren't in our cages – Max especially. He acted older than his age. He'd been three last time we'd seen him. So he'd be five now.

_If he's still alive. Poor kid. _

"Ari?" Iggy echoed. "Huh. I haven't thought about that kid in a long time. I dunno – they probably killed him. Or experimented on him. I don't think they just let him be, let him live normally. I mean, his dad betrayed them to help us. And he got left behind."

"I asked Jeb once," I said. "About Ari."

"And what did he say?"

"He said he'd be okay. But I don't believe that anymore. I guess even Jeb wasn't perfect. You're right, Iggy. About perfect. There's no such thing."

Iggy stood up. "Max is getting up." And then he strode to the kitchen, leaving me sitting there, bleary-eyed, confused. Leaving my mind reeling.

Max walked in and froze. "Oh, my God - Nudge? You're up before me?"

"I got up before her," Iggy answered. "What do you want on your toast?"

"Butter," said Max. Sitting down. "I'm just trying to process…Nudge…up early…"

"We need Cheerios," Iggy announced suddenly. "Nudge, I'm going to town…"

"I'm coming!" I said eagerly. "Oh, yes, please! Plus, we might as well find out about the sun and stuff there."

We didn't know about the lights situation in the town. We'd turned on the TV to a news station, but none of those got any signal, which was weird.

"I'm coming too," said a small voice from behind us. We turned around. Angel stood, hugging a large stuffed rabbit to her chest.

Iggy sighed. "Please tell me you heard us talking, and you didn't read our minds."

"But then I'd be lying," frowned Angel.

* * *

Me, Iggy, and Angel flew to the town after breakfast. Iggy was holding each of our hands so we'd get by well in the darkness.

And then, light exploded in front of us. I squealed, letting go and covering my eyes. Angel wailed. Angel and I knew what was happening, and I'm sure that Iggy knew, too.

The sun…was back. Glancing back at the house, I saw that all the lights were on. Somehow, I just _knew _that things weren't going to go dark again. Maybe life was back to normal, for us. Normal as it could get without Jeb there, anyways.

The light hurt my eyes, but I loved it anyways, the brilliant rays and golden glow. I tried to do a loop-de-loop, which I was never any good at.

And lost my balance.

"Ah!" I yelled as I crashed down into the trees below. Sharp pain burst inside me, but I stood up and dusted myself off.

"Nudge, are you okay?" I heard Iggy yell.

"She's okay," said Angel. I think she read my mind again. "She'll be up in a minute." Yeah, she read my mind.

I looked up. Something caught my eye. A blinking red light, coming from the branches of one of the trees. I blinked, and it was gone.

_Just my imagination_, I thought, and flew up to join Iggy and Angel.

**A question for my lovely readers: What do you think the flashing red dot was? Was it really Nudge's imagination?**


	15. Chapter 15 Sugar

Chapter 15: Sugar

**Finally: the fifteenth installment. Probably a long chapter. Includes a kind-of-cliffhanger and a lot of cute moments with Iggy, Angel, and Nudge. They're so much fun to write. I also highly recommend the following fanfiction, ****_The Lion and The Lambs_**** by ****PartingGrace.**

**_~Iggy POV~ (of course. It's my favorite one to do.)_**

We decided to go to the town anyway. We had a fridge full of unused food, but Angel and Nudge really wanted Cheerios. Plus, I needed a new matchbook and some icing sugar to make cupcakes. Max was smart; she could figure out where we'd gone.

Once we were above the town, Nudge spotted a nice abandoned alley where we landed to fold up our wings. It was hard to do it pressed up in there, and I had to be careful because apparently, there was broken glass littering the pavement. And I had to keep my ears open for anyone who might walk by. Somehow I suspected a miscellaneous pedestrian might be surprised to see three kids with wings in an alley.

Luckily, nobody came, so we strode out and into the town. It was lively in the streets, and I tensed, hating the wall of sound that surrounded us. Who knew? Any one of these could be Erasers. Amongst all the varying scents, from warm aroma of coffee from shops to human waste from gutters, I couldn't distinguish anything especially wolflike.

Angel and Nudge obediently gripped one of my hands on either side so as not to get lost. Judging by the rhythmic footsteps from Nudge's side, she was skipping. And then, quite suddenly, both their hands slipped from mine and darted somewhere to my left. I froze. I couldn't hear where they were. Panic exploded in my chest. Angel and Nudge! Where had they gone? I'd lost them! My little sisters. Two of the people who helped make my world whole. Gone!

"Ang'? Nudge?" I called desperately.

"Iggy! Over here!" I felt Nudge's hand grab mine again and pull me towards her. We stopped in front of a store.

"The grocery isn't here," I began. "Is it?"

"No," replied Angel, "it's…a pet store."

"Oh."_ Great. _

"Oh, my God, Iggy," gushed Nudge, "there's the cutest kitten ever here! Like, really cute. The cutest kitten in the whole wide world! It's got these _huge_ amber eyes and gray stripes and – oh, my God! The fluffiest tail ever! And these big ears, and teeny paws and a teeny pink nose, and…" she stopped herself. "It's just so cute."

"I'm sure it even breathes in a cute way," I muttered, grabbing her arm and staring to tug her away. "Come on."

"But it's cute! I like this kitten. Can we buy him? I want a kitten." Nudge answered, trying not to whine. "Please?"

"Nope," I said, reaching for Angel's general direction. Her small hand obediently gripped mine. Nudge reluctantly took my other one and led me forwards. She didn't skip anymore.

After a while of walking, Nudge stumbled to a stop next to me. There was a soft rustle of fabric as she straightened herself up. "Oh! Iggy!"

"What is it?" I asked. _Please don't let it be a puppy dog…_

"There's a stand, and a guy is selling ice cream! And the sign says…" she paused.

"'Um…Three scoops…only…one dollar.' Oh! _Oh! _Could we?"

_Three scoops, one dollar? Oh, God. That's tempting. That's really tempting. _"Even I can't say no to that deal," I replied. Nudge subtly tugged me over, and Angel started to hum.

"What is there?" I asked. "Is there a sign?"

In the end, we each got three different flavors. I got vanilla, chocolate, and lemon sorbet. Angel chose strawberry, peach, and pear. After a great deal of consideration, Nudge went for coffee-toffee, vanilla, and caramel. It was fifty cents for toppings, so I had sprinkles, Nudge got gummy worms, and Angel got chocolate chips. So that was four dollars and fifty cents.

Angel spotted a nice park bench, and we sat down and had our ice cream. It really did taste like heaven. Afterwards, we went to the grocery.

"Angel," I instructed, go get icing sugar and Cheerios."

"Chocolate ones?" Angel asked. "Yes? Okay." I heard her dart away before I could say anything – she'd read my mind again.

After a few moments, while Nudge was reading all the kinds of sprinkles for my cupcakes out loud to me, and I'd just settled for the brand Party Time, Angel arrived, panting lightly. She dropped the supposed Cheerios and icing sugar in the basket. I ruffled her hair and planted a kiss on the top of her head. She giggled.

I grabbed a matchbook at the cashier's desk, recognizing the soothing odor coming from the box. I dropped it on the register. Could feel the cashier's suspicious gaze burning into me.

"You smoke, kid?"

"No, ma'am," I answered.

She snorted. "How old are you, anyways, kid?"

"Twelve, ma'am," I retorted. I heard Angel as she counted out the money and dropped it on the counter.

"You're fifty cents, short, sweetie," said the cashier. A gentler tone had crept into her voice, sweeter. Softer. The kind of tone no one can help but use when addressing Angel. Or Nudge, for that matter. Except, of course, the Erasers and Whitecoats.

"We don't have no more!" Nudge protested ungrammatically. I made a mental note to help her with that when we got home.

In my head, the cashier looked at Nudge sympathetically. "Hon, you need to pay the full bill."

"It's only fifty cents, ma'am," I answered.

"Fine. This one time," the woman said grudgingly. "I'll remember you guys. Where you from, anyway? I haven't seen you around, and I know everyone from here."

"Phoenix," I lied. Angst began to gnaw at my insides. What if she was an Eraser or something? Oh, God. She didn't smell especially wolflike, but I could never be sure. With all the scents of different kinds of food wafting around...

"Thank you!" Nudge chirped as I grabbed her shoulder and started walking away from the cash. She took my hand and led me outside. "Oh!"

Once again, her hand slipped from mine and I heard her run away from me. "Nudge!"

Angel struggled out of my grip, but I held on tight, and at last she gave up struggling. "She's looking at the big stuffed polar bear in the window of a toy store."

Suddenly, an irresistible smell near overpowered all my other remaining senses. I raised my head and sniffed the air. "_Mmm._ What's that smell? It's coming from over there." I pointed.

"There's a candy store," said Nudge, coming back to join us. "I wish we could get some."

The flavors of chocolate-covered strawberries, yogurt pretzels, and sour berry gummies began to tingle on the corner of my mouth. "We can go," I whispered.

"But we're out of money," frowned Nudge.

I raised one hand and waved it in the air. "Five-finger discount."

Angel tugged on my sleeve. "Can I have a piggyback ride?"

I bent down for her to crawl on. "I can never say no."

"Don't worry," Angel returned. "I'll be careful with your wings."

I swatted her gently. "Damn it, Angel! Stop reading my mind!"

Holding Nudge's hand, we made our way towards the candy store. "Remember," I breathed, "_don't_ get anything in packages. Steal nothing but bulk candy, and be careful about this. If I remember correctly, this is a big-buck store. They'll sue us if we get caught. Maybe even arrest us."

"What's _bulk_?" asked Angel. "Oh. Okay."

She'd read my mind again.


	16. Chapter 16 Thieves

Chapter 16: Thieves

**Looks like we've got some little thieves here, eh? Naughty Angel, Nudge, and Iggy…I hope everyone reviews. I have cookies, fresh made by Dr. Martinez and Ella! **

**_~Iggy POV~_**

Nudge quickly found the bulk candy section. Angel crawled off my back and wandered off, hopefully somewhere in near proximity. I opened bins at random, pretended to read the list of healthy ingredients like hydrogenated palm oil and Red 40 as if I could actually see what it said. Then I'd slip my hand into the bin and feel the candy. Anything of gummy-like substance, I pocketed. When something felt like chocolate-covered strawberries or something, I'd ask Nudge.

"Feels way too small to be strawberries," I said under my breath. "What is it? Raisins?"

"Um…" Nudge said. "It says…chocolate covered….espa…esper...espreesa…"

"Espresso?" I volunteered.

"Yeah, that's it," she replied. "Chocolate covered espresso beans. Eew. Chocolate beans? Like, raw beans? Why would anyone want raw beans? God, that's disgusting. What's espresso?"

"You know espresso," I said. "It's coffee. You like coffee, don't you?"

"The warm brown drink?"

"Um…" I tugged one of her long curls. "I _assume_ it's brown. It's kind of bitter. You put sugar in it, Nudge. You like coffee."

"If it's a drink," retorted Nudge, "then how come it says _beans_?"

"Coffee _comes from beans_, little hawk. You'll like these. I'll get some." I dropped the little delicacies into my pocket. I'd never had chocolate covered coffee beans before. Never had them with Jeb, and shockingly, not while we were at the School.

I heard familiar footsteps – Angel's – running back to me. "Iggy! Iggy! They have caramel popcorn!"

I turned in her general direction. "Did you get some? That sounds good."

"Uh-huh. I got a lot. Can I have a piggyback ride again?" I could feel her giving me the Bambi eyes, which the Gasman had vividly described to me. It really did sound like you could never say no to those, especially when Angel was giving them to you.

"Okay. You can help me pick some more candy." I said, turning around, bending down. I felt her small hands claw at my back until she had her legs wrapped my hips and her skinny arms round the back of my neck, small chin resting on my shoulders.

"Oh!" she cried. "Iggy, there's peanut butter pretzels! Can we get some?"

"Which bin?" I asked.

"To your left, at five o'clock." As she spoke she nuzzled her face against me and I gave one of her little legs a squeeze, which was all I could reach without straining my muscles.

"I'll get it," Nudge offered, reaching for the bin. She popped it open, and there was a hushed clattering as she groped around. A rustle of fabric as she dropped the pretzels into her pocket, which I really hoped wasn't bulging, and then more rhythmic skipping footsteps as she went off to look at more candy.

"I think we have a lot now," Angel said. "My pockets are getting big."

"Fair enough," I agreed. "Actually, very fair, because I'd rather not get us arrested. Nudge! Move your butt, we're going!"

She hurried up to me, a scowl in her voice. "I was just getting jelly beans, jeezum."

"No, her pockets aren't bulging. Much." said Angel from my back.

Nudge took my hand and we walked out the door, hoping nobody would notice us walking with (slightly) bulging pockets out of a _candy store._ Well, it wasn't the pockets that did the trick.

Soon as we walked out the door, the alarms started blaring.

I froze. "The hell? I thought we only took bulk candy."

"_Run_!" screamed Nudge, already whipping her hand out of mine and racing forwards. Behind us, I heard a clerk whip open the door, felt him look around.

"He recognizes us!" Angel hissed into my ear. "He recognizes us, and he's coming this way! Nudge was right…._run_!"

Without hesitation, I surged forwards. Had no idea where I was going, where Nudge was. But all I could do was run, run forward blindly – no pun intended – as startled gasps from pedestrians surrounded us. I heard whistles, police whistles – crud – and heavy footsteps behind us. Heard Nudge yell, "Iggy! Help!" from somewhere to my left.

I stumbled to a stop. "Nudge!"

She screamed, and Angel tightened her grip around my neck. "They've got her! Oh, Iggy!"

We could have kept running, me and Angel. But really, what choice did we have?

* * *

Apparently, because we were just kids, they weren't going to throw us in prison for ten years or anything. Instead, they cuffed us and drove us to the station. They told us we could call our folks. We'd have to wait in one of their cells till they came. Great. There was a bit of a problem with that. And, you know, there wasn't even a telephone in our mountain home.

It wasn't a long drive, maybe half an hour, they'd told us. But Angel had fallen asleep, her small head leaning against my shoulder. Nudge was unusually quiet. She was crying to herself. It was awful knowing that _I_ was the one who made her cry. It was _my_ fault all this had happened.

_Nicely done, Ig,_ I thought. Furious with myself. I could hear Jeb chewing me out: "_Nudge is nine years old, Iggy. She's strong. She could have gotten away, once she got over the shock of being caught. You shouldn't have turned yourself out. Should have waited for her to get away, then…"_

_"Run." I would have said. "Run and find a gutter or something. Find a way out, fly."_

_"That's right! Why did you do that? You know better than that, Iggy! You're twelve years old. You've attracted attention to yourself…"_

Of course, we only would have had that conversation if we'd gotten out. Which would work if they didn't check my pockets. Ironically, they hadn't searched our pockets. Candy was still there. Almost self-consciously, I reached into my pocket and felt around for one of the chocolate-covered espresso beans. Once my fingers closed around them, I reached out and gently tapped Nudge's arm.

I heard her sniff and sit up, felt her look at me hard. "What?"

Silently, I dropped one of the candies on the seat next to her. She didn't say anything, but she leaned against my shoulder and I stroked her curly hair. A gentle _crunch_ sound filled the air as she ate it, slowly, savoring the taste.

Then I reached into my pocket and felt for something else. When I had it, I lifted one foot and shoved it into the toe of my sock, which was uncomfortable, but worth it if we were going to make it out.

And then we arrived. I shook Angel awake, and she let out incoherent sleepy mumbles as she took my hand and climbed out of the car.

They led us down countless hallways, and I listened carefully for every echo of our footsteps. Where were the turns? How wide were the halls? Were there stairs? Yes – it sounded like there was a small flight to our right. Unless it was a ramp. How steep was it? Or there was no slope whatsoever.

A door opened. "Git in there," said one of the officers. A man, maybe fifty. I didn't bother trying to meet his eyes, I just faced straight ahead.

A scrape of a chair. Nudge was tapping a seat. I dropped down onto it, and Nudge sat to my right. Angel crawled into my lap and leaned her head against my shoulder, just like in the car.

They asked us questions, like where we were from and why didn't we want to call our parents? We understood that we'd be let off with a warning, right? We couldn't leave until our parents came to pick us up. Were we even related? We didn't look alike.

After that, they checked our pockets, found all the candy. They didn't check our shoes, which was nice. We had to walk through a metal detector, and when I went through, a furious beeping filled the air. Luckily, my windbreaker had a metal zipper, and they just assumed that was it instead of using one of those little machines on me like they do at airports.

Not that I'd ever been to an airport before.

Great security system they have in small-town Arizona police stations.

In the end, they led us to a small cell next to our interrogation room. The barred door slammed shut. We sat in a loud silence, on the cold concrete floor, until footsteps sounded. A guard.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered as he took a good look at us, assumedly, "how old are you guys? You're just kids. Kids!"

"My brother is twelve," Angel piped up, "and my sister is nine. And I'm four."

"Four years ol – Jesus Christ!" the guard muttered. "Sure you don't want to call your folks? You can't leave until they come in."

"We know that, sir," I replied, and he left us alone after that, which was nice.

"What is there in here?" I asked. "How many beds?"

"One," answered Nudge weakly.

_Great._

I heard Nudge stand and walk over to me. Then she sat back down. "Hey, Ig? I have something to tell you. Well, Angel too, but she's probably read my mind by now. Right, Angel?"

"Uh-huh," said Angel, sounding rueful.

This could not go over well, but I answered lightly. "Well, shoot."

Nudge sniffed and leaned her head on me again. "I…um…I…" A deep breath, then she continued. "It's my fault we got arrested. You told us to take bulk candy, and I was going to, but then I saw they had Citrus gum, and…I took a package. Cardboard and all. _That's_ why the alarm went off, that's why we got caught. Not 'cause the candy was, like, radioactive or something. Oh, God, it's all my fault. I'm sorry."

She burst into tears.

I didn't know what to say. It's not like I could tell her it'd be all right, it'd all be okay. She didn't deserve to be lied to anymore. We'd tried lying to her – for a bit – about Jeb being gone, but it didn't work out and she deserved better. Deserved the truth. So instead I just held her while her skinny form shook with sobs, her tears wetting my shirt. I couldn't care less.

I kept holding her for a long time. When she finally recovered, pulled herself away, Angel said, "It's night. I'm sleepy. Can I go to bed? And we can try to get out in the morning?"

"Yeah," said Nudge tiredly, "you take the bed. I don't _deserve_ to sleep on the bed. And you're the littlest anyways."

"No." There was a rustle of fabric as Angel stood up and joined us. "No, you should take the bed, Nudge. 'Cause you're sad."

So Nudge took the bed and Angel and I slept on the floor. She rested in the crook of my arm and fell asleep almost at once.

Soon after, Nudge's quiet snoring filled the air. I just lay there, thinking. Angel was right. We'd get out in the morning. I lifted my foot and pulled the small metal device out of my sock, placed it back in my pocket. My toes appreciated it.

Then I, too, let sleep claim me. For now.


	17. Chapter 17 Dreamscape

Chapter 17: Dreamscape

**Because I love you guys, I'm going to keep you in suspense. The following chapter is Angel's dream/vision/explanation on the mysterious red light in the woods which will make no sense if you haven't read Chapter 14.**

**It's a short chapter, and I really hate short chapters.**

**Oh, and I've found a way to survive running laps in gym class! My teacher told us we had to run half a kilometer at a sprint without slowing down. Which sucks. So me, in the Max Ride daydream I live in half the time, pretended that the Erasers and Whitecoats from the School were after me and my friends in the Flock. (my OC is one of them.) So I ran, tricking my mind into thinking my life was in danger, and…it worked! If you can't stand gym, I recommend it.**

**_~Angel POV~_**

_I woke up first, way before anybody. Nudge, of course, was fast asleep. I scooped up Carrot, my worn stuffed rabbit, then the book Max had been reading us last night. It was a wonderful book of fairy stories and last night's had been called _The Rose Tree. _It was sad, because the little girl in it had died, but that was okay because it was at the beginning and she came back as a little bird and got revenge on her evil stepmother that killed her. A little bird, just like me._

_I opened to the next story, which was called _The Frog Prince_, and started to read it. I wasn't very good at reading yet, but the letters were big and the words were small, so I made it by okay. _

_Then the door opened. Max shook Nudge awake, and after a bit of time, Nudge got up and went to Iggy's room to pester him into making pancakes. Then Max pushed aside my curtain and she smiled._

_"You're reading by yourself! Good girl."_

_I closed the book. "Are we having breakfast now?"_

_"Once Iggy gets his butt out of bed."_

_I shook my head sadly and crawled out of my own bed. "I love, love,_ love_ Iggy's cooking, but how come you never cook, Max?"_

_Max laughed. "Oh, my Angel, you know I can't cook for the life of me."_

_After a bit, Iggy had French toast ready, which we'd never had before. The others didn't even know he could make it. But it was delicious. A wonderful, egglike, flavor with the texture of that fancy French bread called baguette. Me and Nudge and Gazzy piled up on the maple syrup, and Iggy made Fang make sure I had my fruit because it was good for me. _

_After that, Iggy went off to his room. Probably to build a bomb. Max and Fang watched TV._

_"Oh! Max! _Max! _Can I, like, go show Angel and the Gasman how to climb a tree?" Nudge raced up to her and knelt down at her feet. "Puh_-lease?_ You know I'm good, and all of you guys know how 'cause Jeb taught us when Gazzy and Angel were having a nap. Remember when Jeb was here and Angel and Gazzy were little and they had to take naps? Can we go climb trees, Max?"_

_"Yeah," agreed Max, "go ahead. Don't go _any further_ than the stream, mind you."_

_"Guys!" Nudge cried, delighted. Springing to her feet, dashing over to me and Gazzy."We can go! I'm showing you two how to climb a tree!"_

_We walked out to the thick bit of trees near the stream, Nudge skipping ahead, singing a song from the movie we'd seen last week._

"The hills are alive with the sound of music…"

_I trooped behind with Gazzy. He looked annoyed. _

_"What's wrong?" I asked. "And you might as well just say what, 'cause if you don't I'll just read your mind."_

_Gazzy shook his head. "No…I just wanted to build the stink bomb with Iggy. But if I tell Nudge no, she'll be sad."_

_I didn't believe him, so I concentrated on his thoughts. Sad…dark…confused…scared…I focused even harder, and now I could hear little bits of words and phrases here and there. Dad…miss…home…_

_"You liar," I said smugly. "You miss Jeb! How come you didn't tell me? You don't have to be – what was that word Max told us about? Ashamed? Yeah, that's it. Ashamed. You don't have to be ashamed. I miss him a whole lot too, and so does Nudge and Max and everybody."_

_Gazzy took my hand. "Yeah, I know. I'm scared that the Whitecoats are gonna come too. But if they do, I'm not gonna let them hurt you, 'cause you're my sister and I love you."_

_I smiled happily. "I'm not gonna let them hurt you, too. I love you too."_

_"Oh, guys!" Nudge called. "Come on! Move your butts, this is the best tree."_

_So we picked up the pace. Nudge carefully showed us how we had to look around for the big, thick branches and use our muscles to pull ourselves up. We had to put our legs on those branches, then reach up, and so on._

_I knew it was awful, but it made me think of the nets they made us climb at the School. Even though I was just two years old when Jeb took us away, I still remembered how they'd pin our wings down, put the electric cuff thingies on our ankles. Make us climb these complicated twisty nets way up high._

_I liked climbing trees better._

_I was the littlest, smallest, so I could climb even faster than Nudge. Last time I asked Jeb how much he thought I weighed, before he died, he said, "Probably about fifteen pounds, I reckon. Maybe twenty, max. Because your bones are light and your organs are light and you're so small to begin with. You're a special girl, Angel. You're really special, kiddo. Remember that. I love you."_

_I loved him, too. _

_I continued to climb way higher than Gazzy and Nudge. My hand found a thick knot in the wood and I used it to heft myself up. Instead of wood, my hand met something plastic like. A blinking red light caught my eye and I gasped despite myself. I pulled myself higher up and took a closer look. _

_"Gazzy! Nudge! Come up here quick! I see something really weird!"_

_Nudge and Gazzy picked up their pace and came to join me. "What? What is it?"_

_Together, we pulled the funny object out. It was big and hard, but we managed to sort of throw it out. It hit the ground and broke. We leapt down and took a closer look._

_"It's a camera," whispered Nudge._

_A camera…_


	18. Chapter 18 Flight

Chapter 18: Flight

**Hey, peeps. I've decided to update. Plus I really love writing this story, it's more fun than I've ever had writing a fanfic. This chapter will be one of the few with two POVs in it. The escape part sucks because I'm afraid I'm terrible at writing scenes with a lot of action in them.**

**Oh! I've come up with a theme song for all the Flock, including my OC, and a catchphrase. I will feature one per chapter.**

**Max: Song: ****_Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)_**** by Kelly Clarkson. Phrase: ****_I must have cookies._**

**_~Iggy POV~_**

I woke in a sweat, and immediately knew something was very wrong. I wasn't lying on my familiar bed, and this wasn't my floor. Polished hardwood. This was cold, stiff, concrete.

Something – no, some_one_, was leaning their head on my shoulder. I recognized the feel of their hair on my neck. Angel. Her breathing was soft and relaxed, a sleeping angel. She shifted slightly. I could hear Nudge, sleeping somewhere to my right, on an elevated surface. Unlike Angel's breathing, hers came in sharp, nervous gasps. Having a nightmare.

Where the Hell were we? I snapped my eyes open, because that was going to make a difference. I felt around my body, not wanting to get up for fear of waking Angel. Just that concrete, cracked and rough. Were we in a cage? I stretched my arm out as far as it was willing to stretch, and my fingers brushed cool metal bars. Oh, God. We were in a cage. A big one, too big to be from the School. Back there, we'd been cramped into tiny metal dog crates with metal floors. Hadn't been much room for our wings.

This was a different cage, different captors. Again: where the Hell were we?

"We got arrested, 'member?" Angel said sleepily, stirring. "For stealing candy. And you said we'd get out for stealing the candy."

All the memories came rushing back: the cop car, the interrogation, the gum Nudge had taken, me holding her. Comforting her.

"Jesus, Angel," I said, "is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning read my mind?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Yeah, it is."

I sighed, shook my head. Hefted myself into a sitting position and gave her a peck on the cheek. We just sat in silence for a few minutes, till she asked softly, "So, what about that plan? Of breaking out?"

"I'll tell you when Nudge gets up. Or you could just read my mind. If you want."

"That I will!" Angel replied brightly.

We sat in silence for a while. At last, Nudge woke up, and she did remember we'd been arrested.

"I have an idea to help you," Angel said, tapping my hand.

I ruffled her hair. "Oh yeah, Ang'? And what's that?"

She was already slipping away with a "Listen and learn."

_She _did _read my mind, right? She _did _know the plan? Because I don't like the sound of this. This can't be good._

"Hey, mister?" Angel's voice, sweet and innocent.

A sympathetic sigh from the guard. "Yeah, kid? You guys wanna call your folks yet? They'll be worried."

"No, sir," Angel replied. "But I'm really, really thirsty. Can you bring me some water? Or maybe a soda? Or a milkshake?"

The guy laughed. "You _must_ be thirsty. And hungry. I'll bring you a Pepsi. In fact, I'll bring you all a Pepsi. Do you like Pepsi?"

"Yes, _mister_!" Angel put strong, bright emphasis in the word, and I couldn't help but grin. My little girl really was a genius.

Footsteps sounded as the guard walked away. Angel came back and sat down next to me. "There, you see, Ig? Now all you have to do is…"

"No!" Nudge exclaimed sleepily. "Please don't set off a bomb, Iggy. I really _hate_ bombs. You know that. They're so _loud_ and they _hurt my ears!_ And dangerous. And scary. And we'll probably wind up being on the _news_ because we blew up a _police station_. And we'll also probably _die_, 'cause in this cell, we can't get far enough away from the _explosion_! Can't we, like, ask for _breakfast_ and take one of the spoons and _dig_ our way out? They did that in a _movie_ I saw once. Plus, I'm already _hungry_. Can we _eat_?" A whine crept into her voice, and I held up a hand to signal for her to shut up.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small metal device. "Nudge…I have a _lock pick_."

**_~Nudge POV~_**

Iggy waved the lock pick in the air, then grinned despite himself, felt for the lock. Got to work. Angel pulled back and gripped my hand, eyes wide with excitement.

"We're gonna get out!" she whispered eagerly.

After about four minutes, a _click_ echoed through our grimy cell. Iggy waved his hands towards the now open cell door. "Ladies first."

Hesitantly, I walked out into the hall, Angel holding my hand. Then Iggy tensed. "Someone's coming! I hear footsteps! From the near end of the hall. It sounds like the guard!"

He slipped out the door, dropped his device into his pocket. Angel gripped his hand tightly.

"Run," he breathed.

Adrenaline rushed through me as I moved forwards, swiftly, my black curls bouncing around my shoulders. Iggy held onto Angel tight as they ran, too, just behind me. A "hey, kids! Hold it right there!" sounded behind us – the guard indeed – and I glanced around to see him, three cans of Pepsi in hand, staring at us in surprise. Angel glanced over her shoulder, eyes widening in fear, staring to slow down. Iggy, sensing it, gave her arm a sharp tug and she snapped out of it.

I turned away again, and blinked when I saw a wall about three feet in front of me. There was a sharp right turn and I skidded to a halt, then kept running. Iggy heard the echo of my footsteps just in time and spun right.

Angel was slowing down, her breath deep and labored. Sharply, Iggy grabbed her hand and swept her onto his back with one swift motion. Her thin arms wrapped tightly around his neck and she buried her face in his shoulder, blue eyes peeking out. He barely slowed down.

More people behind us, a whistle, shouts, doors opening. I shrieked in surprise as a door right in front of me whipped open and a police officer – a woman – leaped out.

"We're trapped, Ig!" I cried in distress, grabbing his arm as he stumbled to a halt nest to me. Angel's eyes were wide as saucers, her small hands tightly gripping the fabric of Iggy's shirt, wrinkling it.

The police officer gave us a sympathetic smile. "Kids, you really need to stay here until you call your parents. Is there trouble at home? If so, you don't need to be afraid. We're here to help you."

I eyed her carefully. She really did look like she wanted to help us, the look in her green eyes sincere. Jeb would have told me to fight her, kick her in the chest, break one of her ribs, and keep on running.

I didn't want to do that. She seemed nice. She really seemed to think that we were kids who were being abused at home. Why hurt her?

_We've been abused, all right,_ I thought. _But we've been happy for two years, and we'll go on being happy so long as we get out of here! Even with Jeb – our dad – gone forever._

I elbowed her to the side of the hall, which took her by surprise, and kept on running.

"Go, go, go! Iggy – _left_!" I shrieked, and he obeyed at once, with Angel softly echoing my words in his ear.

We spun the turn, near oblivious to the whistles and shouts behind us. Something up ahead caught my eye – a door. To the waiting room. "Doors, Ig!"

I hit it running, and suddenly, my lungs couldn't take it any longer. I dropped to my hands and knees, and Iggy almost tripped over me. I knew the police were behind us, but breathing normally was a luxury I hadn't experienced in, like, five minutes.

"Nudge," said Iggy through gritted teeth. "Let's _go_, get _up_!" I nodded absently, got to my feet. Footsteps behind us were getting louder. We ran outside to find ourselves in a mostly empty parking lot.

"Up and away?" I asked hesitantly, and Iggy took a deep breath, then nodded.

"We're in public!" Angel argued tensely.

"Just go!" Iggy snapped, and she flinched. Then she climbed up onto his shoulders, kicked off, snapping out her wings as she did so.

Ig and I snapped ours out too, and we shot upwards like rockets. "Above the cloudline!" Iggy commanded. "It feels cloudy today. No sun."

"It is cloudy," I confirmed, flapping my wings clumsily. My heart was coming alive in my chest, beating out a wild, maddening rhythm. _Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump._

We soared up, way up, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the wind rustling my feathers, my hair.

The cloud was wet and cold, and it got my new shirt all wet. I was shivering when we came up.

"What now?" asked Angel.

"We…go home." Iggy's voice was slow, words careful. "Can you see anything at all through the clouds?"

"No," I replied. "Just…well, kind of. They're thin. Everything is all hazy."

"Let's fly due south," decided Iggy. "I think that's where the house is. When it's far enough away, we'll drop below the cloudline and make sure."

It was a silent flight. I don't know how long it was until we dropped below the clouds. We'd been going the right way, which was a relief.

"I'd say it's about a twenty minute flight from here," Angel reported. "Maybe fifteen."

"How did you know that?" I asked, surprised.

Angel shrugged. "I read Iggy's mind."


	19. Chapter 19 Hit

Chapter 19: Hit

**I hope everyone liked Chappie 18 of Alone. But enough about that…I bring you Chapter NINETEEN!**

**But first, Fang's theme song and catchphrase! Song: ****_Dark Side of the Moon_**** by Pink Floyd. Catchphrase: "…"**

**Am I not a genius? Okay. Fine. Here's the chapter. Should I give it to you? Not everyone's been reviewing. I don't think you deserve an update. (oh yes, I di-id!) Well, some of you do. Just be aware that there is a review button. Oh, fine. I'll give you the damn chapter.**

**_~Maximum POV~_**

Last night, Iggy, Nudge and Angel had disappeared. Just gone, poof. They left when the sun came back. At first, we'd assumed they'd gone to the town, but when night fell and they were still gone, panic rose inside.

Jeb had disappeared when he'd gone to the town. To get us a movie to watch, a rental. He'd gone away thinking of us and he hadn't come back. Now half my Flock was gone. When I woke up early that morning, I'd left silently. Fang and Gazzy still asleep. I'd flown in the direction of the town. If the Erasers had them, or the sadistic Whitecoats…if I had to watch them die, knowing it was my fault, my fault for letting them go alone…

I furiously shook my head. _No_. _Max, you idiot, they're still alive. They're okay._ I gave my wings a flap. _You said the same thing when Jeb disappeared._

I clenched my hands. _They're going to be all right._

Then I saw it: three birds, big ones – hawks? Flying in a tight formation, towards me. I veered to one side. As they came closer, grew larger, I realized how clumsy they were. How awkward. Not just the way they flew, but their general, all-around _shape_. Then, of course, there was the fact that they were wearing clothes and sneakers.

_Thank God. _I soared up to meet them, and Nudge's face lit up when she saw me, as did Angel's, and Iggy, upon hearing my wingbeats, faced pointedly away. A look lingered in his clouded blue eyes – guilt?

"Oh, my God," I choked out, already turning around, heading back home. "Oh, God…where were you three?"

Nudge sheepishly ducked her head. "We'll tell you at home, okay, Max?"

_Oh, no. This can't be good. _

I tried to remain calm as we flew back to the house. Now, closer up, I saw it: guilt. Written all over their faces. I shot Nudge and Angel a glare. To my _great_ frustration, staring daggers didn't work on Iggy, but at least it worked on the girls. Angel looked more than ready to burst into tears.

When we got home, Fang and the Gasman were standing in the front hall with sodas in hand. Fang stood casually, leaning against the wall. Impassive. On the other hand, the Gasman took one look at us in burst into relieved tears. He dashed forwards and threw his arms around his sister, dropping his soda as he did so. Pepsi bubbled and frothed on the floor, and Nudge stared at it, almost fascinated.

We all hugged, glad to be together again, glad to know we hadn't lost eachother for good. I marched purposefully to the living room/kitchen combo.

"Is the stove working?" asked Iggy.

"Yes," said the Gasman. "I think so."

I watched as Iggy strode over, opened the fridge door and felt for eggs. When he found them, he took a dozen and laid them out on the counter. As if he could tell we were watching him – which, on second thought, he probably could – he shrugged and said, "I haven't cooked in a week. I _need_ to make eggs. I really need to make eggs."

Fang looked like he was ready to protest, but I waved a hand. "Let him. I could go for some eggs. But Iggy, don't think this gets you out of some explanation." I dropped heavily into an armchair and fixed Nudge and Angel with another hard look. "What happened? Where were you? Why did you come back so late?"

"Well, the thing is, Max," Nudge began earnestly, "me and Angel and Iggy had spent all the money on sprinkles and icing sugar and Cheerios" – Fang groaned – "and Iggy got matches. Oh, and ice cream. It was good ice cream, see, and at a total bargain. Like, what was it? I can't remember how much it was, but it wasn't much. So we got some, and it was just so good, and…" Realizing she was rambling, she trailed off, bit her lip. Sat down on the sofa. She cast a glance at Iggy, who was breaking eggs on the rim of a plate.

"Okay." Fang said slowly. "So you spent all your money. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well," Angel chimed in, "we're sorry, Max, honest we are. But we were hungry and there was a candy store with little chocolate covered strawberries and gummies and stuff. So we went in and tried to take some. Like, you know, steal it." She looked down guiltily.

"You got caught," I said quietly. "Somebody saw you taking candy." At the same time, the Gasman exclaimed, "Did you save any for us?"

"Nobody saw us taking the candy," Nudge breathed. "We were only going to take bulk. But I saw that Citrus gum and I took it. The alarms went off 'cause it was in a package It was all my fault..." She burst into tears on the spot.

"No," said Iggy. "It's my fault, Nudge. It was my idea to steal the candy."

I stood up sharply and marched up to him. Anger starting to simmer up inside of me. "Your idea? _Your idea_? Jeezum. So you got arrested, am I correct? You got arrested and it held you up!"

Iggy cringed. Normally, I'd feel guilty, but now I felt nothing. Nothing but anger. _Parental anger_, I realized. I went on. "So you got held up and then you broke out. With what? A bomb?"

"You set off a bomb without me?" cried the Gasman in horror.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" I hissed. "I thought you were gone. Gone, just like Jeb! I thought I'd lost you forever! You guys are all I have left now! And you put me – and not just me, Fang and Gazzy too – you put me through all that just for _candy_?"

I didn't realize I was shaking. I didn't realize Angel was behind me until she was patting my back. "I'm sorry, Max. We're sorry. We're all sorry!"

I spun on her this time. "Yeah, well, what does that do? You've caused chaos! Not only that, but now we can't go back to that town! They won't throw you in jail, but the police will recognize you. They will. And Phoenix is far – too far too fly very often too. So now we have to go hungry."

"But we have a lot of food in the fridge," the Gasman offered helpfully.

"Yeah, and that'll last us a week at best!" I snapped. "First the sun disappeared, and I don't know what the Hell that was about, but then I lost you guys."

I strode up to Nudge now. She stepped back, as if afraid of me. "I thought I lost you three over a bit of _candy_."

Before I knew what was happening, my hand was raised and came down, hard, on her cheek. She froze, staring up at me in shock, her hand moving slowly towards her face.

Silence fell.

I'd never hurt any of my Flock before.

And then I burst into tears. I turned away and ran down the hall and out the door. My body shook with furious sobs as I snapped out my wings and started to fly.

I just wanted to go away, go away and never come back. As I flew, I found myself lost in a long-ago distant memory.

_I'm eleven, I think, and I've been in an argument with Fang. I want to listen to my CD and he wants to watch television. We've been yelling, pushing each other, and I was aware of the others standing in the doorway, watching in shocked silence – well, Iggy _listening_ in shocked silence – and then Jeb was there, tearing us apart. _

_He shoos the others out of the room and they scram. He makes us face each other and the only thought running through my mind is, _Fang is a jerk…I hate him.

_"You know better than to fight over the TV, Maximum. Fang."_

Ah. Yes. That's right. He hardly ever called me Max. It was always Maximum with Jeb. He said it made me special. I'd only just remembered this. Was I forgetting him already?

**Featured review for chapter 18: "...I sure hope Nudge is leading the flight home. If Iggy tries to lead them back they will probably end up in Tibet..." from PartingGrace.**

**Want your review featured? Well, just leave a funny review and press the pretty Review button...you know you want to...  
**


	20. Chapter 20 Forgetting

Chapter 20: Forgetting

**I'm updating. This story sure is fun to write. Keep an eye out for the latest chapter of ****_Secret Friendship_****, my story of Les Miserables, which should be coming out by Saturday. Maybe Sunday if I get busy.**

**So, now I'm going to feature a really amazing Maxie Ride story. I think I've recommended it before, but it's a real incredible story at it needs readers. It's called ****_The Lion and the Lambs_**** and it's by ****PartingGrace. **

**And now for theme songs and catchphrases. Next up: Iggy. Oh, yes. **

**Song: ****_Blackbird_**** by the Beatles. Catchphrase: "The world needs its blind pyros."**

**Oh, I took a Hunger Games quiz, 'what District would you be in?' Apparently it's either Four or Two…I guess I'd be happier in a Career district, because then someone would most likely volunteer, and I wouldn't have to worry as much. And, you know, being well-off. I like it!**

**_~Maximum POV~_**

It was about noon when I got back. Iggy had made salad with dressing – from scratch – and macaroni and cheese. Also from scratch. As in, he grated the cheese and mixed it with the milk. Or cream. Or whatever he used.

Nudge was bouncing around Iggy, watching him mix the dressing and lettuce. She looked up when she saw me walk in, looked at me nervously, as if she expected me to hit her again. She averted her gaze.

"Nudge, carry the salad to the table. Make yourself useful." Iggy dropped the tongs in the bowl and gathered up some glasses.

Nudge, face shining with pride, picked up the salad bowl, which was almost as big as her head, and carried it with no difficulty to the table. She dropped it promptly and dropped into her usual seat. Watched Iggy distribute the cups.

"No!" she cried in distress as he dropped a blue glass in front of her. "The purple cup's mine!"

Iggy shot a scowl in her general direction. "_Which one is the purple cup?_"

"You gave it to _Fang_," said Nudge indignantly. "But it's _mine_."

Sighing heavily, Iggy grabbed the cup he'd left as Fang's place, right where he knew it would be, and dropped it in front of her. "There. Happy?"

"Yes," said Nudge. "Thanks, Ig." She glanced up at me again. I caught sight of the small red mark on her cheek. Barely noticeable, but you could see it if you knew it was there.

Especially when you knew you were the one that hit her.

Guilt started to claw at me, and I averted my gaze myself. I wanted to say sorry. I wanted to take my little girl and hold her close and read to her. Heck, I'd take her shopping if she wanted to. Just something to make up for hurting her.

Iggy, sensing the tension in the air, bit his lip anxiously and faced away. "Lunch is ready!" he yelled, a false brightness in his voice.

Cheering, Angel and the Gasman tore out of their rooms and inspected the food on the table. Then they took notice of me. Gazzy slunk back nervously, but Angel, who must have been reading my mind, smiled at me gently. "It's okay, Max," she whispered. "I know you feel bad about it."

Fang came over, blinked when he saw me, and dropped into a chair.

"Oh! Iggy!" Angel tugged on his sleeve eagerly. "Can I get apple juice?"

He grinned, reached out for her, and she took her small hand in his. She smiled. With no warning, he reached out and tickled her. Shrieking, Angel stumbled back, a grin lighting her face, happiness in her blue eyes. "Thanks, Iggy," she said sweetly. Then she glanced over at me. "We can have apple juice, right, Max?"

"Sure." I waved a hand at the fridge, and she scuttled over, then hefted the heavy carton back to the table.

Iggy sometimes seems so much better with the little ones… Am I a bad leader? Iggy would never hit any of them.

Silence fell upon us as we started to eat. At last, Angel looked at me, almost annoyed. "Oh, Max! Just say what you want to say!"

Every head turned towards me.

I stared at my macaroni and cheese, which had just become really interesting. "I don't think I'm fit to be leader," I said quietly. "I can't do this anymore. We need Jeb! We can't go on living like this forever! More bad stuff is going to keep happening. Stuff like the sun disappearing."

Fang blinked at me again.

I took a deep breath. "I can't control myself," I said. Louder now, voice raising. "I just get angry so _easily_. It never used to be like that. I don't know how to put up with you guys! Do I punish you? What would Jeb do for punishments? I can't remember anymore, but…when you get arrested, when you set off bombs – I know it's going to happen, Ig."

He didn't scowl at me, which I greatly appreciated.

I sank lower in my seat. "I can't do this! I'm just a kid! Godammit, I'm only twelve years old! I can't raise a family!"

Now I stood up, knocking my chair back, pacing the room. "I'm sorry. I just…I'm trying. I'm trying real hard. And we have to try and move on, but truth is, we never will. Not on the inside anyway. It's just that…"

I felt the tears coming, and I clenched my fists tightly and forced myself to remain calm. "…it's just that I can't take it, but I'm not going to leave you guys here. I'll try to do better." I stopped and sat on the arm of the sofa. I was aware of everyone in the Flock still watching me. I stood again and walked up to Nudge. "I'm sorry," I said to her. "To you most of all."

Nudge looked stricken. "It's okay, Max," she said quietly. "It's okay. It doesn't even hurt."

I smiled gently at her. "Yeah. I know. You're a tough girl, Nudge." I sat back down and started to eat. Fang shot me one of his rare smiles, which startled me into nearly knocking over my orange juice.

Despite my sentimental, touching monologue, lunch was a quiet affair at first. But when the Gasman did his thing at one point, which made my partially digested food swish dangerously around inside me, things warmed up.

"Oh, jeez, Gazzy," I said.

Iggy slapped one hand over his nose and raised the other. Waved it in the air. "Hey, careful there, Gasser! Enhanced senses here! Please be considerate."

We laughed, like we always did when this happened. Maybe we were moving on. Maybe we were really going to be able to forget.

Did I want to forget Jeb? Did I want to forget my father figure? The man I had idolized for two and a half years? The one that got us out of the School, made our miserable lives worth something?

No, I didn't.

Something caught my eye, lying on the floor, peeking out from under the sofa. Covered in dust. One of Jeb's car catalogues.

He'd been considering getting a car, I remembered. Once again, I felt myself washed away in another memory.

"Maybe I could get one and drive you six to Death Valley. You'd like to see that, wouldn't you? It's a landmark. Beautiful place."

_"Yeah, I'd like to _see _it," said Iggy brightly._

_"Isn't the School in Death Valley?" I objected. "Maybe we should see another landmark if you get a car, like Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon or something. I know we can't go far: we can't afford it. Well, the Falls aren't really close, but you get my point. It's just that it'd be a Hell of a lot safer."_

_"Yes, Maximum," agreed Jeb, "the School is in Death Valley. But Death Valley's a big place, and it's nearby. We wouldn't go near the School. But – that was smart thinking on your part, Maximum."_

I shook my head furiously. I had to stop dwelling on the past. Not forgetting didn't mean living the memories over and over in my head, a constant loop.

_"There are more important things, Maximum," _Jeb would have told me. _"Focus on how you're going to keep everyone alive. Where will you get food, for instance?"_

"Hey, Max? Hey. Earth to Max. Earth to Max."

Once again, I was brought back, this time by Iggy's voice. I blinked. "Yeah?"

"There's Jell-O for dessert. If you want some. I was going to make cupcakes, but…well, you know."

"Yes, it's your own fault," I scolded. "Fine. Sure. I'll have Jell-O."

It was orange Jell-O, which was Angel's favorite, and her face lit up when she saw this was so as Iggy carried in the six bowls. She threw her arms around him when he gave Angel hers. "Thanks, Iggy!"

The younger ones – i.e. Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel - dug in happily, putting all their worries past them.

But I couldn't be fazed so easily. Something like Jell-O didn't make me grin in delight anymore. I wasn't sure if it ever could again. Unless we'd been starving and someone presented us with Jell-O.

All this madness with the sun being gone, Iggy, Nudge, and Angel arrested, was just one challenge I'd have to deal with in a long list of challenges.

Challenges we'd have to deal with without Jeb.

Challenges we'd have to deal with alone.


	21. Chapter 21 Decisions

Chapter 21: Decisions

**I'm so happy! I hit over 30 reviews! So, featured fan fiction – this times it's for ****_The Hunger Games_****. The featured story is ****_May The Odds Be Ever in Your Favor_**** by ****Ali Avian. **

**Also, a song for my OC, Annalisa…****_Tomorrow Will Be Kinder_**** by The Secret Sisters, No catchphrase for her, yet. **

**So, on to the twenty-first chapter! I hope y'all like it, and don't forget to leave a review! Honestly, if you don't like it, just say so. **

* * *

**_~Nudge POV~_**

"Into the living room," said Max loudly, clapping her hands together. "Time for biology class! That means everyone."

"Biology class?" asked the Gasman. "What? We don't…I mean…"

"She means we're going to watch TV, Gazzy," said Angel matter of factly, hugging her worn stuffed bunny - Carrot - to her chest.

"Oh, no," I moaned. "Please not _Planet Earth._ It's so boring!"

"Yes, _Planet Earth_," Max said crisply.

I sighed, but perked up when Iggy came out with an immense bowl of pretzels. Fang followed him with a bowl of microwave popcorn.

"Shouldn't we be saving that stuff?" Max questioned, eyeing the bowls of snack food cautiously. "Since we'll be going hungry soon?"

"We're going to go hungry, yes," said Iggy. "So might as well enjoy life while we've got it." He put the bowl down. Grabbed a pretzel, threw it in the air. Caught it perfectly in his mouth. Max rolled her eyes.

Fang calmly put the bowl of popcorn down and turned on the television. The _Planet Earth_ logo flashed on the screen, and I sighed heavily and plopped down on the carpet next to the Gasman, who found the show as boring as I did. I liked the little animals – most of them were cute – but the narration could put someone to sleep.

We sat in silence, with the Gasman nearly falling asleep. I stayed awake by eating popcorn. I wasn't paying attention, but suddenly, the TV turned off. Max was glaring at the screen with the remote in hand. Breathing hard.

"Hands up if you're sick of sitting around, moping. Wishing Jeb was here," Max's voice was barely audible.

I hugged my knees, considering. What _did_ I think? Of course, I didn't want to sit around moping. That was obvious. But what was Max proposing? Did she want us to forget? No…I didn't want to forget, didn't want to forget my dad. Jeb.

"She just means maybe we should stop _dwelling_ on the past," explained Angel sweetly. "Like, remember but move on anyways."

I glanced at Max carefully. "Is Angel right?"

Max nodded. "Oh, yeah. Too right."

"We're not _moping_," Iggy tossed a piece of popcorn at me. "If I was moping, I would not have been able to make salad dressing as good as I did for lunch today."

"I'm rolling my eyes, Ig," sighed Max. She sat up straighter. "No, really. We have to decide. Now."

Fang lifted an eyebrow and tossed a piece of popcorn in the air. Caught it in his mouth.

"I think…" Angel murmured, "we should just put the past behind us, like you said, Max."

Max held out her arms, open for a hug. The four-year-old crawled into her lap. There was a moment of bizarre peace, just Max and Angel holding eachother close. I didn't even realize it, but I was leaning my head against Iggy's shoulder.

"So, what do we do?" I found myself saying.

"What Angel said," the Gasman offered, eyeing his sister cautiously. "I want to just leave the past behind, but I don't ever, _ever_, want to forget Jeb. He was our dad. He got us out of the School. He taught me and Ig how to make bombs."

"Too right," said Iggy wistfully. "And he taught me how to cook. And pick locks."

"He got us out of the School," I echoed the Gasman's words. "And he fixed my hurt wing. He taught us how to fly good and he showed me how to read and he showed me how to use computers. And he taught me about cars. I like cars. I don't want to forget him, either. I couldn't forget Jeb if I tried."

"We won't forget Jeb," muttered Fang, tone soft. "We can't."

Max was stroking Angel's hair. Was it out of affection? Something to keep her mind on, a soothing rhythmic pattern? She needed something like that, a mindless constant in her life. So did I. We all did. And we lost that when Jeb was gone. Was it both?

"Fine." Max's sharp voice snapped me back to reality. "So we'll just leave him behind. We got rid of the papers. Now we have to get rid of his stuff. His clothes and stuff. You know, constant heartache by having them there. Having to look at them."

"I know, I can't stand looking at them either," said Iggy.

"Can we blow them up?" the Gasman wheedled. His blue eyes shone with six year old hope and delight.

Max sighed heavily. "Fine. This one time, mind you. And don't you dare blow up my stuff with it. Don't even go in my room, actually."

"When did I blow up your stuff?" Iggy demanded indignantly. He stood up sharply, arms crossed across his chest. A playful scowl on his lips.

"Last year, if you recall." Max shot back, gently lowering Angel down, who had fallen asleep in her arms. "You set my _only_ pair of non Goodwill jeans on fire and they blew up."

"Oh, yes," said Iggy, frowning. He rubbed his chin as if in deep thought. "Now I remember. _That_ incident. Jeb was incredibly pissed. So were _you_, for that matter. Maximum Ride: obsessed with her own jeans! But how was _I _supposed to tell that those weren't from Goodwill? I'm _blind_, in case you forgot."

Max shook her head in frustration, threw her arms in the air. Which, I noted, kind of defeated the purpose. She took Angel in her arms and left the room to put her to bed. "You can blow his stuff up in the morning!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"You should probably get to bed, too, Gazzy," said Iggy, jerking his thumb at the hall. The Gasman moaned in protest, but Iggy replied, "We're got to get up early, okay? You and me have some bombs to set off."

The Gasman grinned, but he didn't move. Grinning, Iggy reached out for him. He caught hold of the scruff of his shirt and held the Gasman at arm's length, ran off to the kid's bedroom.

And then I went to bed, too, making sure not to disturb Angel. I checked on her, and she was sound asleep, an Angel resting. Max was gone, presumably in her own room. I let the pale pink curtain fall back in place and crawled into my own bed.

I fell asleep quicker than I thought I would, and found myself lost in a world full of memories about Jeb.


	22. Chapter 22 Hungry

Chapter 22: Hungry

**Wrote this whilst listening to ****_One Day More_**** from Les Mis. Yay, we finally got a copy of it from Target! Maybe I'll watch it today for the...sixth time...**

**Fanfic feature time! This time, it's for the glorious ****_Hunger Games._**** This story is called ****_We All Love Facebook _****by Spaidel. It's a comedy / parody wherein The Hunger Games characters go on Facebook. I highly recommend it. Nudge's turn for the spotlight in theme songs and catchphrases…**

**Song: ****_Take To The Sky_**** by Owl City**

**Phrase: "Please wuv me."**

**_~Nudge POV~_**

I woke to the sound of an explosion, loud and ear-splitting. I tensed in bed, tightly gripping my blankets. Then I remembered, Iggy and the Gasman were going to blow up Jeb's clothes. Now that I thought about it, I kind of wanted to keep those clothes. They were a gentle reminder of Jeb, my dad. Still smelled of him.

The second explosion was bigger, louder. Something broke in the kitchen. I yelped and scrabbled out of bed. I opened the window and stuck my head out.

Iggy and the Gasman, or as I thought of him at times like these, Iggy's Pyro in Training, were whooping, slapping high fives. A fire big enough to pass for a bonfire burned not far from the house, the grass around it charred black.

"That was one of the best," sighed Iggy. "Best sound ever. What's it look like now?"

"It looks _awful_," I called, making them both jump. I was a bit impressed that Iggy hand't heard me coming. Perhaps he was still going over the sound of his bomb in his head.

"Morning, Nudge," said Iggy. "What does it really look like? I want to – no, _need_ to know."

"Um…" I crawled out the window and joined them in front of the fire. "There's just a fire. And the grass is all black around it. Oh, no – you killed a daisy!" I exclaimed in dismay, noting the small white flower that was now black as night, with several petals lying in piles of ash at it stem.

Iggy rolled his eyes and waved me back towards the window. "You can't describe bombs and fires for the life of you.. Go back and get some sleep."

* * *

**_Two weeks later_**

"What's for dinner, Iggy?" I yelled from the living room. "I'm hungry!"

"Go see what's in the fridge and tell me what there is!" he yelled back.

I glanced over at Max hopefully, but she grinned sheepishly and gave me a little shove and pointed at the door. I tried giving her the Bambi eyes, which always broke her, always made her snap, but she was making a point of looking away.

I sighed heavily and got up, walking backwards, still watching the TV screen. A good movie was on – I couldn't remember what it was called, but it was fun. It was about owls, and the main character was called…Soren? Was it Soren? Anyway, the flying scenes made _my_ wings itch.

"You could have waited until there was a commercial break," I pouted at Iggy, who was at the kitchen table, feet up, fiddling with that lock pick of his. "The movie Max and Angel and Fang and Gazzy and me were watching was good. It had owls in it. You should have come to listen. The only downside was that they show them eating, eating little mice and birds and stuff. But the flying scenes were great. Can we fly after?"

Iggy nodded and jerked a thumb at the fridge. "What is there is the fridge, Nudge?"

"Er…" I strode up to it and slowly opened the door. "There is…"

I froze, my eyes growing wide, my jaw dropping. I stared. _Could this be?_

"Nudge?" Iggy prompted.

"It's empty," I whispered. "The fridge is empty. We're out of food. We're _out of food. _We emptied out the cupboard the other day. Now we're out of food."

Iggy got to his feet now, dropping the lock pick on the floor with a clatter. 'What? That can't be!" He reached into the fridge and groped around hesitantly. Slowly, he backed up, a look of awed horror written all over his face, showing in his sightless blue eyes. "Well, crap."

I sank into a chair. "No kidding. Now what? I'm hungry."

Iggy took a seat on the table, his legs swinging back and forth. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth…a constant, a never ending rhythm.

"Now what?" I repeated.

"I don't know," Iggy confessed. "I really don't know. All I know is that we're screwed."

I laughed uncertainly. Unsure if that was supposed to be a joke or not. Maybe it was. A joke that was so very true.

* * *

**_Three Days Later_**

Water. We'd been living off water for three days. From the tap.

The past few days that sent a hollow hunger inside us, we'd grown fretful. Sort of like something in a book. Becoming bitter from hunger.

I couldn't take it.

Over our delicious breakfast of water, poured by Iggy himself – there was something comforting about him serving our food – Max threw forward the painstakingly obvious.

"We need food. Real food, real fast."

Iggy began to clap, hard and dramatic. "Wow! Wow. Well put. This girl deserves a Nobel prize! That was absolutely genius, let me tell you. _Genius_."

Max swatted him.

Iggy paused. "So what do we do, then? We do need food."

"Phoenix?" I proposed. "Should we go to Phoenix? I mean, we can't go to that little town, because…well, you know." I looked at my hands sheepishly.

"No," said Max, shaking her head. "We can't go so far without food. We'd have to refuel before that."

"I know what we can do," Iggy piped up.

Every head whipped towards him, eyes fixated on him.

"What?" Max asked meekly. "What idea do you have?"

Iggy clenched one hand into a fist, drumming his fingers with the other. "Dumpsters," was all he said.

**One of your stories will be featured next if you know what movie they were watching!**


	23. Chapter 23 Dumpsters

Chapter 23: Dumpsters

**I know updates have slowed down a bit, but this time I officially give you the twenty third and, sadly, penultimate chapter of ****_Alone_****. I know a lot of you were hoping for more, but this is it. There will be more MR stories coming from me a little bit before I complete my Hunger Games story, which is called ****_A Shattered World. _****I hope you guys have loved the adventure that was ****_Alone_****. **

**But, on a much happier note, it's time for the Gasman to have the spotlight on features. I love that kid, you know that? Especially in the manga, they make him look so adorable. **

**Song: ****_Fireworks_**** from the Harry Potter soundtrack**

**Phrase: "Who? Me?"**

**_Iggy POV~_**

"So, who gets to go to the town and get some food from the Dumpsters?" asked Max.

"I want to go, I want to go!" Nudge cried, her voice brimming, overflowing with delight.

"I don't think you should go," Max's voice was hesitant. "You or Iggy or Angel…because, well, you'll be stopping in that same town where you got _arrested_." I could practically feel her vicious glare.

"But, Max," Angel's voice. Hopeful. Sweet. "I trust Iggy this time. Don't you trust him? You wouldn't be willing to give him another chance?"

"No, not really," muttered Max.

"Don't worry," I said with a shake of my head. "I won't blow up Angel and Nudge. Or, at least, I'll _try_ not to." I grinned.

Something hit me over the head – a pillow. But it was a half hearted whack. Weak. Hesitant. Hunger had weakened all of us. Made us tired. We couldn't go on like this much longer.

I wished I could laugh. But I couldn't remember how. How did you laugh? Was it something you decided to do? Was it something involuntary?

What would it be like, to be well-fed? I couldn't remember that, either. I just wanted to have something other than water in my stomach. Once, on _Planet Earth_, I'd heard that humans can live off of pine needles. Unfortunately, there weren't really any pine needles here in our mountain home. Should we le - ?

"No," said Angel, somewhere to my left. "We can stay here. We'll be okay, Iggy. We just have to go to the Dumpsters and, like, get some food. _Then_ we won't be hungry."

It was at times like these that Angel sounded much older than four.

"Fine," said Max. "Fine, I give up. Ig, you take Angel and Nudge and go to the Dumpsters tomorrow morning."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Tomorrow morning? I thought we were hungry _now_."

"I'm shaking my head," Max replied. "It's dark out. Too dangerous for you three."

I frowned and rubbed my chin. "Hmm, I guess you're right. Going out when it's dark _might_ be dangerous. I mean, I won't be able to see where I'm going."

The Gasman let out a faint laugh, and Nudge crawled up to my ear and whispered, "Fang is smirking."

Max hit me over the head with that pillow again.

She still didn't hit me very hard.

* * *

The following morning, Max woke me up.

"Wha'?" I mumbled sleepily, as she shoved the pillow out from under me. "Hey!"

"Up and at 'em," she said loudly. "You're going Dumpster diving." She half pushed me out of bed, and I groaned, catching myself on my feet. She flicked my shoulder, and I offered a half hearted swat in her direction. I missed, partially because I was hungry and exhausted, partially because I couldn't actually see her.

"Did you wake up Nudge up yet?" I asked weakly, starting to make my way into the living room.

"I got Angel up," she answered, following me. "She's waiting at the door. She needs help with her buttons, so you go wake Nudge up while I do that."

I cursed. Getting a bloodthirsty Eraser to give you candy was easier than getting Nudge up in the early morning. It felt like the sun wasn't even up yet – I couldn't feel its warmth on my face through the window.

Before I could object, I heard Max's footsteps heading for the door. Groaning, I stalked up to Angel and Nudge's room.

I dropped on Nudge's bed, right where it always was, and she let put a yelp as I landed on one of her feet.

"Hey! _Iggy_!"

"Wakey, wakey," I retorted. "We're going to get food."

Nudge moaned. "Can't I stay _here_ and you go with Angel?"

I shook my head, wondering if she'd opened her eyes yet so she could tell. "Nope. I need you guys to tell me what there is, and we'll need two pairs of eyes for that. Eyes that work." I reached out for her and in one swift motion, swept her off the bed.

"Ouch!" she whimpered. "Okay, okay, I'm getting up! Get out – I'm gonna get dressed."

"I'm _blind_."

"I don't care!" Nudge answered, and shoved me pointedly out of the room. "It's still awkward for me to dress in front of a boy."

The door slammed shut, and I waited, listening to her stumble, still half asleep, around the room. After a bit, I wasn't even that tired anymore. Then the door opened. and her hand slipped into mine.

"You sure you don't want me to come?" Max sounded anxious as I steered the two sleepy younger girls out of the room.

"Absolutely," I said seriously.

By the time we were halfway there, the girls were fully awake, and Nudge was chattering away.

"So, are we going to, like, stop in front of a McDonald's? Or a Pizza Hut? Or…Dunkin' Doughnuts or something? I was thinking Pizza Hut, because you know how much I love pizza. I like it when the crust is thick and doughy, and there's lots and lots of cheese. And pepperoni. And tomatoes. How do you spell 'pepperoni?' "

"P – E – P – P – E – R – O – N – I." Angel said at once. As if to emphasize this, she gave her wings a flap, then a bit of a rustle.

I turned to face her in surprise. "How did you know that?" I gave my own wings a flap, enjoying the feeling of the wind in my feathers, in my hair, of the rising sun on my face.

"I read your mind," Angel said slowly, then shrieked in delight as I held my hands out in little claws.

Following her voice and delighted, childish giggles, I chased her as she flew quickly through the sky, calling after her, "I'm going to tickle you! Yes, in the sky! While we're flying!"

After a bit, Nudge spotted a take out joint – not a McDonald's, and neither she nor Angel could pronounce the sign. We stopped in the parking lot.

I heard Nudge hesitantly open one of the Dumpsters with an, "Eew, it stinks!"

We rummaged around inside the Dumpster. Any boxes I felt, I tapped Angel or Nudge and held it up, and they'd tell me what it was.

There was lots of food from the day before that was still fine to eat but the companies didn't want to sell. Angel was ecstatic when I dug up a grilled cheese sandwich and fries.

Nudge hit me with a package. "There's milkshake formula!" she cried in delight.

"Okay, I think we've taken enough to last us the week," I said after half an hour. I felt the large pile of food we'd stacked up. "In the fridge, I don't think it'll spoil, and if it does, then maybe we'll go to Phoenix for proper groceries."

"Wait, wait," Nudge insisted. Tugging the sleeve of my anorak. "They have some of those fried pie things. Um…there's apple and there's raspberry. Which one should I get?"

"You could get both," Angel suggested. "Oh, no…what we've taken barely fits into the bag we brought. I guess you'll have to choose one. I want raspberry. Iggy?"

"Apple for me." I replied without hesitation. "But better choose fast, it sounds like they're opening."

Nudge sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll have to choose. Eeny meeny miny mo…"

"Oh, for God's sake," I muttered.

"Catch a tiger by the toe. If he…" Nudge was saying.

"Nudge!" I said, allowing my usual tact to slide into my voice.

"Okay, okay!" Nudge cried in distress. "Raspberry, raspberry!"

* * *

We feasted that morning on hamburgers, French fries, grilled cheeses, fried raspberry pies, and milkshake formula. Which wasn't as good as the milkshakes I could make from scratch.

"We've done a lot," Gazzy said later, as we slipped into my room to make one of our explosions. "Since Jeb died."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Plenty. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm thinking that we can survive on our own. If we keep this up."

Yes. We could and we would, for years to come.

Move on and live.

Not really alone after all. Because as long as we, the Flock, remained six, we would never, ever be alone.

**Author's Note: That's not the end! The epilogue is still to come!**


	24. Epilogue: Morning

Epilogue: Morning

**Wow. I don't believe it, but ****_Alone_**** is actually over. I had so, so, so much fun writing this thing, and now it's over. Oh, the feels…but again, I have more Maxie Ride stuff coming up. Not only that, but most of my fan fictions for Maximum Ride will include my OC Annalisa. **

**Just for fun, I though I'd make this Maximum Ride related list. Here goes nothing! **

**Things That Piss Me Off About the Maximum Ride Manga Series**

**1. Fang has waist length hair (until he cuts it at the end of _The Angel Expe_riment.) It's described as long, but I doubt it's _that_ long.**

**2. The Erasers look pretty stupid, like something in a little kid's TV show.**

**3. They cut out the scene of Iggy breaking into the ATM.**

**4. They cut out the scene of Max "borrowing" the car.**

**5. They did not focus on how the Flock finds the Institute in New York.**

**6. After ****_The Angel Experiment_****, (so in the beginning of ****_School's Out _****Forever) Angel's hair mysteriously grows from chin length to mid back. The time gap between those two books is specified as 24 hours. **

**7. During Iggy's breakdown scene, they focus more on Max's monologue than his breakdown, which is critical to Iggy's character development. **

**8. They cut out THE most famous Iggy quote of all time in ****_Saving the World_**** – "Well, I have a highly developed sense of irony." I mean, seriously?**

**Okay, please now I have the Angel Phrases.**

**Song: ****_Innocence_**** by Avril Lavigne**

**Phrase: I just read your mind.**

**_~Iggy POV~_**

_Two years later…_

I woke up with an overwhelming urge to blow something up. What, exactly, I wasn't sure, just…_something_. It was then that my ears registered the angry shriek of my alarm clock, which Max had forced me to get last year after I slept in past noon, and the others hadn't wanted to make me up – I'd been up very late the other night making a big birthday dinner for Fang's thirteenth day.

She'd tried, and, naturally, failed at making the others breakfast. In the end, I wound up dealing with five bird children with a nasty bout of stomach flu for a week.

"Gah!" I muttered, reaching out and slamming my hand down on the alarm clock. It didn't shut up. I hit it again harder, and its horrible blaring came to a stop.

Now that the awful beeping was gone, I could hear Max rummaging around in the kitchen – for breakfast? Oh, no. She wasn't trying to do _that_ again, was she? I tried to leap out of bed in a flurry, but one of my legs was still asleep and wound up slumped against the bed.

I got up and paced the room – still half asleep, I might add. I wanted nothing more at this point than to curl back in the covers and go back to the Land of Nod. And blow something up. Unfortunately, breakfast was in peril.

My lids were too heavy to open, and it didn't really make a difference for me, so, eyes still closed, I slumped into the living room and collapses onto the sofa. To announce my presence and salvation.

"Hey, Ig, rise and shine," said Max brightly.

"Bite me," I muttered.

"Fine, miss breakfast," she answered.

"I'm the one who's going to make breakfast anyways," I muttered, although it was so quiet I wasn't sure she heard me.

Max continued to rummage around. What she was looking for, I couldn't be sure.

Footsteps – light and careful – sounded behind me. Fang. I smirked as he passed by me, not speaking, just…being…well, just being Fang.

In the kitchen, Max let out a yelp as he crept up on her. "_Fang_! Will you please quit that?"

Fang's voice remained calm, no trace of a triumphant smirk. "Quit what? Breathing?"

"You know what!" Max replied, irritated. "Make some noise when you move, will you?"

"I'll make eggs," I said tiredly. _Must not let Max cook. MUST NOT LET MAX COOK._

We'd had her cooking once, before Jeb died. She'd just turned eleven, so Fang and I were still ten. She'd also just acquired a last name. Ride. I didn't know why she wanted a last name – for me, it was too much identification, too binding too one thing or another.

She'd suggested that we adopt the last name too, but nobody had agreed.

_"I'm going to make breakfast," announced Max. I heard the springs creak as she gave a little bounce on the sofa._

_We were all surprised – Max had never shown any interest in cooking before. When we'd first arrived here, Jeb had tried to show all of us three older kids – Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel were, well, just too young. Neither had Fang, actually. But I'd liked the idea of _making_ my own food, not just eating it._

_Somehow, it fascinated me that I could both make the food and eat it afterwards. _

_"Yeah, yeah, I want to try Max's cooking!" Nudge chirped. I heard her stand up, and something clattered to the floor. Most likely the robot she and Gazzy had been playing with. _

_I'd wanted to help, but Gazzy dragged me off to fly with him._

_When we returned, the house smelled terrible. Max was slapping something gross onto our plates. _

Must not let Max cook.

"Fine," Max said with a sigh. "I'll go wake up Nude and Angel."

As I opened the fridge, I heard her footsteps retreat to their room.

The Gasman wandered up to me. He tugged on my sleeve as if to alert me of his presence, though I'd heard his footsteps anyways.

"Hey, careful, Gasser. Handling eggs here!"

"Sorry," the Gasman retorted. "But I wanted to ask you…can we - "

"Make a bomb? Hell, yes. I've been feeling the same way since I woke up Need to blow something up."

"Which wasn't that long ago," the eight year old reasoned. He walked back to the kitchen table.

After a few moments, I heard the door open and Nudge stumbled in. A scrape of her pulling out her chair, and she collapsed into it.

"Tired?" I asked sympathetically.

"Unh," she answered. It was a moan.

"There's eggs," I pressed, cracking one on the edge of a bowl.

"Are they ready yet?" Nudge mumbled sleepily.

"What's it look like?"

There was a pause as she assumedly inspected the counter. After that, "Then I'll go back to sleep."

"Don't spill the juice!" Gazzy begged. "I just poured it!"

I laughed. The door to Angel and Nudge's room. Their footsteps sounded.

I dropped the egg yolks into the frying pan and reached for the salt and pepper, already sprinkling it in. I didn't know why I liked to add the salt and pepper before the eggs even started frying.

It was a little trick Jeb had taught me.

It was quiet then, the only sound being the cooking eggs, the scrape of the spatula against the pan.

After some time, I turned the burner off and grabbed the hot pan. I pushed some eggs onto everyone's plate.

"So, what do you guys want to do today?" I asked, dropping the pan in the sink and taking a seat myself.

"Let's fly," Nudge answered at once. "Let's fly, and then after that I want to watch a movie and then have lunch. And after that, let's watch another movie and maybe, um, we could play Monopoly. I want to teach Angel. And aft – _hmph_!"

Someone covered her mouth. Most likely the Gasman, because he was sitting next to her. And so was I, but I hadn't covered her mouth.

"I want to pick strawberries today," Angel chimed in firmly. "They're ripe now."

**The End**

**Oh, God, the feels, I've actually competed Alone. I mean, the story is damn over. (sniffle) I've loved writing you, Alone!**

**Again, expect more Maximum Ride stuff from me soon! **

**I've decided to list all the people who reviewed this guy at least once. Just because I want to. **

Kate-The-Great-And-Powerful**, **Ruetheday, PartingGrace, MaxnFangForever (guest), theAngeldevilchild, Starlight Keeper of the Stars, WizardingMockingjayWithABox, supersexyghotmew95.

**Just because I appreciate all my reviews. I hope everyone liked ****_Alone_****. Review or face my wrath!**

**-Annalisa, the member of the Flock who is not in the books.**


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